


Conflict of Interest

by JaneAndromeda



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren (Comics), The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Assassination Plot(s), BDSM, Blood Kink, Blow Jobs, Bondage, Bottom Kylo Ren, Bruises, Choking, Daddy Kink, Dom/sub, Dom/sub Undertones, Dominant Kylo Ren, F/M, Face Slapping, Face-Fucking, Finger Sucking, Fingerfucking, Fluff, Force Choking (Star Wars), Heavy BDSM, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Kylo Ren Angst, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo Ren Redemption, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Lightsabers, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Mutual Masturbation, Oral Sex, Protective Kylo Ren, Public Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn, Smut, Spanking, Strong Female Characters, Submission, Submissive Character, Submissive Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Switching, Top Kylo Ren, Verbal Abuse, Verbal Humiliation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 65,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25792603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneAndromeda/pseuds/JaneAndromeda
Summary: (Kylo Ren x Reader)You are a bounty hunter with the recently-relocated Bounty Hunter's Guild on the planet of Tatooine assigned to a high-profile bounty aboard the Finalizer. The Guild's leader warns you about the dangers surrounding your bounty- having to work within close proximity of Kylo Ren being one of them. Though you're skilled and confident in your abilities, you know you'd be a fool to not heed the leader's warnings about Ren's Jedi mind tricks, and quickly realize your assignment will be just as much of a mental challenge as it will be physical. You ask yourself- what boundaries are you going to have to push in order to take down your target while working so close to Kylo Ren?And what is he going to do to you if he figures it out first?(My original work, reposted from Wattpad per readers' requests!)
Relationships: Ben Solo/Reader, Ben Solo/You, Kylo Ren/Reader, Kylo Ren/You
Comments: 20
Kudos: 80





	1. The Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> (In-Progress; Tags will be updated as story develops)
> 
> Please read the tags.
> 
> Story depicts graphic sexual violence in a setting that could otherwise be unhealthy and inappropriate in real-life. Fan Fiction is a great way to experiment with these aspects in a safe, controlled environment, but please exercise caution when reading this story or consider not reading it if these aspects are not something you are comfortable with.
> 
> Enjoy.

As you step out of your speeder, the hot Tatooine sun burns down upon the small bits of exposed scalp between your braids, immediately sending a hot rush throughout your limbs. Your hand reaches down instinctively to the cloth pack attached to your hip to reassure yourself that your weapon is at your disposal.

Not that anyone here would bother you, anyways. They know your name around these parts- you're the best damned bounty hunter this planet's seen since your predecessor from decades ago, and everyone knows it. Tatooine has been more peaceful since the Bounty Hunter's Guild relocated here, as the Guild has had an unspoken peacekeeping presence on Tatooine in recent years. You would proudly claim yourself to be an instigator of that new reputation- if you'd had anyone to speak with regarding these kinds of matters.

Though you're part of the Guild, you consider yourself an independent-thinker. You knew you'd do what you had to do to protect yourself over the Guild's Code without question, as your family had learned to do over the years with their experience with the Guild. And you're sure anyone else in the Guild would say the same for themselves, and for that reason, you tend to spend your spare hours alone- with no known family left- and you're content with that. 

The hilt of your weapon taps your thigh lightly as you cross the sand to the local cantina for your meeting with Steros Ke-Wrau, the Guild's bounty coordinator. As you step into the cantina, the smell of wood and must fills your lungs- a familiar smell that has now become comforting to you in your time on Tatooine.

Steros spots you from the bar and motions you to a secluded booth in the far corner of the room, his hardened jawline softening at your sight, his elbow propped upon the bar's smooth edge.

"I don't think so, I'll need a drink first." You say with a smile as you confidently stride to meet him at the bar. Memories of your most recent kill- missions or jobs as you preferred to call them- flash through your mind.

"After that last bounty, I don't blame you." Steros says, returning your smile eagerly.

Once you have your drinks, you join Steros at the booth and breathe a sigh of relief at the opportunity to finally rest your tired legs.

"Your credits." He comments as he slides a parcel across the table.

You grasp the parcel in your hand, judging that it must be the correct amount by its weight- at this point, with your success rate, you don't doubt that the amount is correct with everything you'd done to improve the guild's reputation. You weren't all that materialistic, living a simple lifestyle and saving most of what you'd earned. But at this point, those who resided under your protection in Tatooine practically saw you as a god- you took comfort in knowing Steros would never lie to you.

"When I sent you to your last target, I hadn't the slightest idea that you'd have to take down the whole palace." He marvels, the glimmer in his fascinated brown eyes making them bright against his tan skin.

"He was a hutt." You remark unironically while taking a sip of your drink. "What else would you expect?"

"I suppose I should have known- and sent you with a partner."

"I don't need help. From anyone." You spit.

Steros focuses his gaze on you with a serious expression for a moment before breaking out into a chuckle. "I know these things better than anyone. We've been working together for how long?"

"Too long." You permit a smile to touch your lips. "So tell me Steros, what's next for me?"

His excitement withers back into a grim expression from some place unbeknownst to you, immediately sending your curious thoughts exploring the dark depths of your mind with an eagerness like that of a scavenger in an abandoned ship. He scans the room for a moment as if to check if anyone is listening before leaning in across the booth.

"The next job is... extremely classified. It's best we don't speak here."

"Very well." You say, chugging the rest of your drink and giving your best effort to mask your excitement. "Where to?"

"We can talk in my speeder." He declares, his tone final and making it clear he wouldn't be saying anything more.

You follow Steros out of the cantina and back out into the hot sun, the musky smell of the bar quickly disappearing into Tatooine's hot winds and being replaced by the smell of sweat and street meat being sold by vendors as you pass by. As you walk through the rugged buildings that make up the edge of town, you're both gazed-upon by admiring locals who have always turned to the Guild for protection, but you find yourself more on-guard after your conversation in the cantina; even the more high-profile bounties that you've worked could be handled in the secluded corner of the cantina- what kind of bounty would cause Steros to shiver in his boots like this? The eyes you had taken comfort in knowing typically looked upon you in security now felt like they were all watching.

"What kind of job is of such a high classification that you can't speak publicly about it?" You wonder aloud to Steros while you tread through the sand.

"It's not your normal job." He comments while you approach his speeder.

The ramp of Steros's luxurious, oversized speeder extends to the ground as you follow him inside, the only sounds being the hissing of the ship and the heels of your boots tapping along the metal ramp.

"Have a seat." He instructs as you approach the large table in the middle of the speeder. "This bounty... it's not like one we've ever received before."

"How so?"

"It's the kind of bounty you have to accept before I can give you any details." He says.

"Sounds intriguing... and why is that?" You continue to mask your excitement, wondering who you get to kill.

"Because," He sighs, shaking his head slightly, "The target is very high-profile."

"How high-profile are we talking?" You ask, a mixture of confusion and fascination.

"High enough to get into trouble just talking about it."

Your brows raise slightly. "Are we talking... government?"

He nods silently. "I'm sure you understand why we cannot discuss the details until you've accepted the mission."

"If this bounty is as high-profile as you claim it to be, then I take it I'll be putting myself into a great amount of danger by accepting it."

He shrugs slightly, confirming your conclusions. "Its pay certainly reflects its risk."

"How many credits are we talking?"

"Hundreds... of thousands."

You cannot stop your mouth from gaping slightly in shock. "Hundreds of thousands? What kind of client would even have that type of money?"

"I can't tell you until you've accepted the mission." He says stubbornly.

"Though it might have been unspoken in the past, I think we both know you only turn to me when you want someone killed- not captured.... right?"

Steros doesn't answer. He simply holds your gaze intently, swallowing saliva.

Maybe it was the thought of the money, or all the things you could do with the money, or maybe it was just the sheer adrenaline of the potential of the kind of mission that could cost hundreds of thousands of credits that made you answer.

"I'm in." You say immediately.

"Very good." He says. "Unfortunately, I don't have any information in my datapad regarding the job- it's of the utmost classification, so all I've got for you is word-of-mouth."

"Who's the target?"

"A General of the First Order. General Hux."

Your heart drops for a moment. "A General?"

He nodes gravely, the safe confines of his ship not feeling so safe anymore.

"You know I'm confident in my abilities, but- a General?" You ask. "We could be executed for even discussing this."

"So I'm sure you understand how important it is to keep this matter between us." Steros says, keeping his voice low. You could sense the fear in his voice, too.

"Of- of course. But, since when do we deal in these kinds of matters?"

"Since a client with the kind of money to make it happen reached out to us." He says simply. "Anyone will do anything for a price; yourself included, I'm sure."

"I'm not sure if I want to take that as an insult or not, but I suppose you're not wrong." You comment. "But, why Hux?"

"I don't have that information."

"The client?"

"I don't have that information."

"Why not?"

"Because..." He says, slightly agitated, "... our minds aren't safe."

"Why wouldn't-" You begin to ask, trailing off when you realize what- or who- he could be talking about.

"It's Commander Ren- he knows far too many mind tricks for you to be given that kind of information. I don't even have these answers for you." He repeats again, confirming your speculation.

You feel a slight pang of fear twinge at your stomach, something you're not used to. You tilt your head and raise a brow, feeling your body defend itself with cockiness as it always had. "I'm offended, Steros. I thought you were the one who told me I was the most strong-willed hunter in your Guild?"

"I've heard stories... terrible, gut-wrenching stories about what he can do to one's mind. The information you're asking for isn't safe- don't go looking for it."

You had heard the stories, too. Countless people, beings of every species, brutally slaughtered by Commander Ren himself, either at the hand of his saber or with the unexpected, bone-chilling power of the force. Not a single soul in the galaxy didn't know his name or what he was capable of. There was only one group- one specific movement- that you could even fathom that would have the bravery to launch an attack so close to Commander Ren as this.

"The Resistance." You figure aloud. "They must be connected to this, it's the only answer."

"Don't go looking for this information." He warns again, his eyes beginning to widen.

"Fine." You didn't much care who the client was, Resistance or not. "Any specific requests from the client?"

"They have already provided your means of travel to and from the Finalizer-"

"The Finalizer?!" You raise your voice slightly before remembering to keep your cool. "I mean, the Finalizer... right."

"That's where General Hux is stationed at currently. The client apparently used to have someone there on the inside who was able to obtain a token that you can use to get to the military planet of Ta-Noun. Once there, you will be boarding a transport to the Finalizer under the identification of a Command Sergeant with the First Order."

"That sounds ridiculous. Nobody's going to fall for that." You state obviously.

"Sure they will, if you stick to the plan." He explains. "As you know, Ta-Noun is the First Order's primary military development planet. Most officers who come from Ta-Noun are new officers- nobody onboard the FInalizer would notice the difference, anyways."

"And how would I get close to General Hux?"

"Leave your deployment assignments to me. I know a few people who can make the data transfers to ensure you're close to Hux. When the time comes, finish the assignment and pilot a ship to the closest inhabitable planet and make contact with us. We can arrange for someone to pick you up and bring you back here."

"So let me get this straight." You say, re-explaining the bizarre plan Steros just proposed. "You want me to travel to Ta-Noun, the most guarded military planet of all the galaxies, impersonate a Command Sergeant, board a transport to the Finalizer, command stormtroopers as if I know what I'm doing, assassinate a General, steal a transport, fly to the closest unspecified planet, figure out a way to communicate with you, and sit there until someone shows up to help me?"

"Essentially, yes. You're the only hunter I could trust with this. Are you up for the task?"

"Of course." You say, your soul biting at the adrenaline. "When do I leave?"

"As soon as possible."

By the time you're back in your own speeder, you immediately reach for your transmitter and initiate a call.

The transmitter beeps for a few moments before a holograph appears, and you hear a comforting voice say your name.

"Good evening." You say, a light smile on your lips as a reaction to a warmth caressing your heart. "I need your help."

The familiar smiling face of Lairae, the closest person you've ever had to a mother, falls to an image of panic as she looks back at you through the holograph.

"What's going on- is everything alright? Why are you calling?" She asks.

You had stopped communicating with Lairae several years ago, cut ties with her completely- for her protection. You knew that bounty hunting was the only way to financially get you what you needed to take care of your responsibilities back home, and merely being anything close to family put Lairae at risk just by existing. You spoke with her on a few occasions- emergencies.

"I have accepted a job that has the potential to take me away from home for a very long time. There's a chance I might not make it back alive."

"Why would you do that?!" She exclaims, concern shrouding her eyes.

"I can't tell you anything, it's too dangerous. It would simply get me what I need, enough credits to get out of here. Enough to focus on him." You explain, the face of the last living part of your family overwhelming your emotions enough to discomfort you and make you want to take your mind off of his image. "It would be enough for me to finish what my father started- I would never have to hunt for bounties again. One job and I'm finished, and I can get out of here. It's enough money to retire completely- you could come with us!"

Lairae shakes her head in disbelief, her panicked concern apparent even through the holograph.

"I've already accepted the job." You say. "It's what's best for him. I have to do what's best for him. I just... I need you to care for him while I go. To protect him."

"And if you don't return?" She asks.

"Then you're the only one I trust to care for him." You say, pleading in your tone, a tone that only Lairae had ever seen aside from your typically-cold exterior. "I've done right by my father's dying wishes, and I trust you will do the same- please."

Lairae seems to still be stunned, whether it be by the first time you've contacted her in what feels like eons, or by your proposal.

"Fine. I'll do it. But he must come to my place of residence- he'll be safe here with my droids and security." She decides. Her expression seems torn between acceptance and grief for what could be.

"Thank you." You breathe a sigh of relief.

You knew she would agree to help, but were still relieved that even through you losing everyone you'd ever cared about over the years and cutting ties with her to stop her from suffering the same fate, Lairae has still always been ready to risk her life and limb to protect you and what's left of your family.

It only takes you the remainder of the evening to get the rest of your affairs in order back at your underground residence on the other side of Tatooine. The next day, Stereos meets you back by the Cantina in the early hours of the morning.

"You ready?" He later asks you as you begin your departure from Tatooine, the familiar glow of the warm sand slowly disappearing from your vision as his ship prepares to jump to lightspeed.

"As ready as I can be." You say as you take a seat next to him, brushing your fingers against the hilt of your weapon for reassurance.

The ship jumps to lightspeed, and you feel your back slamming against the cold chair behind you as the window turns into rays of flashing light in the jump. The further away you get from Tatooine, the more you can feel what's left of your heart strings being plucked away from you as the only two beings in the universe that you care about disappear further and further behind you. After a few moments, the ship comes to a slow pull out of lightspeed in the empty abyss of space and you breathe a sigh of relief.

"We are meeting up with a crew that I've paid to transport you to Ta-Noun. The rest is all you." Steros says while digging underneath his seat before pulling out a satchel. "Change into this."  
You take the dark satchel and go to the nearest empty room and pull out the outfit inside- a Command Sergeant's uniform. The sight of it brings back past memories of your experiences with the First Order on other jobs and sends a chill down your spine.

They deserve to pay for what they've done. -You think to yourself, looking forward to the potential opportunity to take down a few extra First Order lives on your mission. You'd never really picked sides in any of the chaos that is politics in recent years, but you'd certainly never seen any Resistance troops parading throughout the streets of Tatooine slaughtering people just for looking at them wrong like the Stormtroopers had.

You change into the stiff, dark uniform and slick your hair back into a tight bun to fit the hat included in the uniform, securing it on your head and taking a deep breath. The only article you keep from your clothing is your weapon. You reach down into your satchel and grasp the cool metal hilt to pull it out.

You examine your weapon- your very heavy, very illegal lightsaber.

Its metal hilt shines in the light of the room you're changing in as you turn it around, flipping it around in your hand as you examine its' balanced curves while thinking of where to conceal it. Taking it with you is something you'd happily risk, considering there's no way you'd give it up. You decide to tuck it into your boot, the feeling uncomfortable but undetectable at first sight in its' hiding place. 

"We've already had your identity data forwarded to the base. The First Order should be providing you with your credentials once you've arrived." Steros explains once you exit the room in uniform.  
Steros's transport approaches a large ship and pulls underneath them into their hangar.

"They believe you're a Command Sergeant that was traveling to Tatooine to negotiate illegal weapons trading on the behalf of the First Order, and that they are being paid by the First Order as well. Be sure to act accordingly." He explains.

"Got it." You say. "Act official, get in, do the job, get out."

"You got it. And..." He lowers his voice and whispers your name. "... Be careful. Don't underestimate the First Order's power. Keep your thoughts guarded, and don't trust anyone."

"I know. I won't." You whisper as the ship's ramp lowers.

You straighten your posture and exit the ship, approaching two Gand pilots who await you at attention.

"Gentlemen." You say simply as you approach them, feeling confident in your stride.

"Command Sergeant." They say while saluting to you. "Are you ready for your departure?"

"I am. I trust you will be transporting me to our destination safely and efficiently?"

"Yes, m'am." One of the pilots says while the other scrambles towards the front of the ship. "We are most pleased to serve the First Order, and look forward to making your trip as comfortable as possible. Did you bring the discussed token for travels?"

"Yes, I did." You reach down into your pocket where you find the token that Steros promised and pull it out to hand it to one of them.

"Perfect, we shall leave at once." He says before scrambling to catch up to the other pilot.

You turn to catch a glimpse of Steros looking down at you from the front window of his transport- he gives you a reassuring nod as the ship slowly lifts up and glides out of the hangar.

And then, you're alone.

Nerves don't set in for much longer than you'd thought they would. You had gone on endless jobs for the Guild in the past, and very rarely did you actually get nervous when working a job anymore, but this one was different. 

You'd always had the element of surprise. Nobody wielded lightsabers anymore- not since the era of the jedi- and it always gave you the jump on your targets when they saw the flash of the blue saber light up the room as you lurched at them. They were typically too caught-up in shock to react on-time, and it made your job easy. But this time, it was different. 

You would be working on the largest command ship of the First Order. They experienced assassination attempts on a regular basis, and they would expect it. The odds of you being successful as any ordinary bounty hunter were slim, let alone your odds of escaping afterwards. But you decided to put your trust into Steros and believe that you're not just some ordinary bounty hunter- that you and only you could do the job and get out alive- and that you must have been chosen for a reason.

And you kept telling yourself that as reassurance throughout your trip to keep a confident persona among you. It worked- for a while.

The difference was- this time, you would actually be in a situation out of your control, and carried a larger, more reasonable risk than others- failure, with a certain consequence of death. You weren't sure which risk was worse. And though your one concern was safe in the care of Lairae back home on Tatooine, you couldn't bear the thought of him losing you- the only family member left in his life- and leaving him with no one. But you had to shake these thoughts from your mind, as the only thing worse than mentally giving your mission away, was giving him away. You could never let that happen.

By the time you had successfully landed upon Ta-Noun and entered the base, you had gotten yourself so far into the mindset of a Command Sergeant that you were certain that this mission would be simpler than you'd originally thought. That was of course, until you were boarding the transport to the Finalizer.

You'd already taken your identification photos and received your formal ID for clearance on the ship, gotten through security, and found your spot on the transport. But you weren't prepared for the next part, possibly one of the most intimidating- socialization with other staff.

"Good evening, m'am." Another Command Sergeant says to you as he straps down in the seat next to you. His dark hair is slicked into a clean-cut style that he likely spent way too much time on, and his eyes are alight with enthusiasm. He must be one of those First Order members who think they're actually on the right side of things. "Pleasure to meet you- I'm Command Sergeant Dane. And you are?"

"Command Sergeant Atwell. Pleasure to meet you." You say awkwardly, trying not to forget your alias.

He squirms in his seat slightly, tapping his hands on his knees.

You both sit quietly as everyone else finds their seats on the transport, footsteps and machinery humming filling the air. Dane seems to be navigating a plethora of thoughts and opens his mouth to speak several times before actually saying anything.

"I've never been aboard the Finalizer before." He whispers excitedly. "I wonder what it'll be like."

"None of us have." You state factually, observing the command staff passing you as the ship begins to hover off of the ground.

"Well, of course we haven't." He stammers, flustered. "I mean, why would we? It'll be a first for all of us. Are you excited?"

You peek at him from the corner of your eye with a puzzled look. "Why would I be excited?"

"You get to be someone- we get to make a difference!"

Oh, this guy must be NEW new.

"Oh, yeah." You say, remembering how this life is normal for most of these staff members, and how most of them are raised- groomed at birth- to secure one of these positions for the First Order. "That part... it's the best. First experiences, and all."

"What sector of the ship were you assigned to?"

"Uh... the bridge."

Dane's eyes practically pop out of his head as his jaw drops. "The bridge?! My goodness, what'd you have to do to get placed up there?"

A bit of hacking, some bribery. The usual. -You think to yourself.

"I guess I'm just... the personality they were looking for at the time."

"You must be rigid. Like, really rigid."

You lean your head back and close your eyes, already emotionally exhausted from the conversation. At least he was right about something. "Something like that."

You listen to Dane yammering on for the entire trip, contributing the occasional "Okay" and "Yeah, sure" as your sanity permits before you hear the announcement that the transport has landed on the Finalizer. Everyone suddenly becomes quiet, and practically sits at full attention as the Command Staff from the Finalizer board the ship.

"Good evening." One of the Lieutenants says as she boards the transport. She strides across the peak of the ramp with a smugness that one could practically grasp from the air surrounding her. She stares everyone down, clearly the type to feed off of being superior to others, and walks with her chin held unreasonably high. "Welcome to the Finalizer. I'm Lieutenant Myra- those of you assigned to the bridge may follow me."

You stand and cross the ship quickly to catch the back of Lieutenant Myra's stride and exit the transport onto the cold, black floors of the Finalizer.

As you step out into the hangar, you're quickly immersed into what feels like another world. The hangar is filled with TIE fighters, command ships, and several other combat-style ships surrounded by bustling pilots working tirelessly with their droids on maintaining each ship. The luminescent black floor squeaks under your uniform boots as it reflects everyone upon its surface, making the hangar feel even larger than its oversized proportion than it already is.

Lieutenant Myra explains a brief tour of the Finalizer without once looking over her shoulder at you as you follow her across the ship to the bridge. As you approach the massive doors to the bridge, she finally comes to a stop and turns around.

"Did we lose everyone?"

"No m'am, it just appears to be me." You answer.

Her dark eyes narrow as she looks at you. "You were assigned to the bridge?"

"Affirmative." You answer.

"Why?"

"Because... someone was needed here, and I needed an assignment." You figure aloud, unsure of why she's asking.

"No, I mean why you?" She sneers. Her voice drips in disdain and some other kind of emotion that seems very personalized to you.

"I'm not sure what you're asking, m'am."

"I'm just confused as to how a Command Sergeant got assigned to the bridge. Not all of us just get assigned to the highest post in the First Order just like that. Seems a bit off to me."

Someone seems jealous.

"I'm honored to serve wherever I can, m'am." You answer, tempted to grasp the lonely saber in your boot and slice her from ear to ear, wondering what her brain matter would look like under all of that dark hair.

She rolls her eyes slightly and turns around, the doors sliding open to reveal the bridge.

The bridge is quite easily the largest command center you'd ever seen- full of sleek, dark accents and several control boards. A pilot stands at each board down in the pits of the bridge, working diligently and communicating between each other. It's like watching a show.

"This is the Bridge." Lieutenant Myra says simply. "I trust you'll be able to keep up."

"I'm certain I will." You say contently just to piss her off. 

It seems to work, as she storms off towards the front of the bridge towards a uniformed figure facing out the window. Her body language is aggressive- though she had been so poised earlier, she now hunches slightly as she talks to the figure and motions in your direction.

"General Hux." She says as she motions for you to approach. "This is our newest bridge addition- what's your name again?"

"Command Sergeant Atwell, sir." You say, sticking to your alias.

General Hux turns around. Hux isn't too large of a man- not much taller than you, and certainly not weighing any more than you, if he even weighs as much as you do. Hux's pale, almost-translucent skin practically glows in the direct star light from out the window, bordered by his bright red hair that is parted and slicked unflatteringly down each side. As you examine the features of his face, you get the immediate feeling of his insecurity in his body language. He seems to be compromising for something, a truly inferior man. He seems to constantly wear a grimace-like glare on his face that doesn't change as he greets you.

"Command Sergeant." Is all he says.

You briefly study his thin physique and the placement of his blaster in one quick glimpse as he begins to talk with Lieutenant Myra about your placement.

"Why have we been assigned a Command Sergeant?" Hux asks Lieutenant Myra.

"I don't know, sir. I'd be happy to have her relocated if we have no need for her here." She says contently.

"It's not a problem." Hux says. "We could use an extra set of administrative hands around here. I'm sure she can help alleviate you of some of your duties."

"I don't have any duties that I'm not able to handle myself, sir." She says, her tone growing in defensiveness.

"Figure it out." He says, his tone more assertive now.

"Yes, sir." She answers submissively, though you maintain the certainty that whatever issues she seems to have with you are far from over.

Your nerves calm down by the time you are shown your quarters in the command wing of the ship and dismissed for the evening. You take the opportunity to shower and browse the wardrobe provided to you- consisting of the bland uniforms of the First Order and some sleepwear. You're always on-guard when working jobs and hardly sleep, but today you make an exception and ensure your quarters' door is locked so you can try to sleep. You're not successful, and begin the next day exhausted.

The next morning begins before the sun would even be up on Tatooine. You slick your hair back into your bun and quickly get dressed in your uniform, rushing and skipping your first meal of the day to get to the bridge early.

"You're early." Lieutenant Myra snaps at you from one of the pits as you enter the bridge. "Too early."

"Would you prefer I be late?" You respond instinctively, unable to curb your tongue.

"I- I beg your pardon?" She asks back.

"I mean... I can come back if I'm too early." Damn, I'd love to stab you in the face.

"No, nevermind. No matter. We need to prepare the bridge for today's agenda. The Command staff be here any moment, and we shall have to go over it with them. Go on and check with each pilot to confirm all systems are at full function." She instructs, seemingly too-busy with her preparation to bother snapping at you any more.

You check with each pilot at their consoles and confirm that everything is working properly, pretending to understand their answers while only really comprehending half of what they're saying as you take notes on the sectors of the ship that are still in need of further preparation until you are certain all sectors are accounted for.

That's when you feel the room falls silent. Two pairs of footsteps echo across the bridge- one average, and one heavy and powerful. You turn around to see Hux walking across the bridge behind a tall cloaked figure that you recognized as one you'd only ever heard stories about- Commander Ren.

As if you'd called out to him, his head snaps in your direction, causing you to look back down to the notes you had been taking, caught off-guard and realizing why the client didn't want you going after him- the man was massive, and you could practically feel his power radiating from underneath his dark robes. You'd taken down larger targets than him on more than one occasion, but the energy that radiated from him was raw and untamed, spiking fear in you for the first time in years and sending an electric chill down your spine. Merely looking at him from across the room made every cell in your body practically scream to run in the other direction, to get as far away as possible. But for some reason, you couldn't tear your eyes away.

Stop thinking about them. Think- reports, reports, reports... You focus on clearing your mind, not wanting to give away your mission.

"Atwell. Come here." Hux orders.

You collect your notes and manage a stride up to the front of the bridge with the three of them, avoiding Kylo's gaze. Even though his face was masked underneath his helmet, you could still feel his intent gaze on your face, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

"The morning report?" Lieutenant Myra asks, seeming to expect you to be unprepared.

"All stations are up-to-speed." You say, forcing yourself to keep your focus on Lieutenant Myra. "The backup shields should be finished recharging shortly, and the analog transmitter maintenance is still being completed on the west wing of the ship- its repairs from last week should be finished within the morning."

"Who is this?" A deep, mechanical voice asks. You don't need to turn to know who it's coming from.

"This is our newest bridge addition, Command Sergeant Atwell." Hux says to him.

"And why do we have a Command Sergeant at the bridge?" The same voice asks again.

You give in to his stare and turn to look at him. His mask is even darker in person- pitch black in most areas, devoid of any human emotion. He was just that- inhuman, and completely unreadable. 

"I'm not sure why I was deployed here." You answer Kylo's question, slightly annoyed with everyone asking questions that you know they won't find the answer to if the person Steros hired to hack the First Order's database did good enough of a job. "But I'm happy to contribute however I can. Would you like me to go check on the progress with the analog transmitter in the west wing before we depart?"

"You may do what is asked of you when you're spoken to and nothing more." Kylo answers without hesitation, his tone angry and mechanic from underneath his mask.

"Yes, Commander." You respond.

You stand at attention as the three of them discuss further matters regarding the ship's destination, which by the sound of it, sounds like you will be traveling to an unfamiliar planet out of the current system. As you watch them talk, you almost forget your mission for a moment as you get caught up in their protocol conversations. And at the mention of passing Tatooine, you quickly remember your mission and decide to study Hux more, considering Kylo appears distracted with the conversation.

You could easily take him down- he's likely not much heavier than you, and you've taken someone much larger down before. You continue to observe the black blaster on his hip, tucked just inside his jacket. As long as you got him alone and acted quickly, you likely wouldn't need to worry about his blaster and would probably have at least a few minutes' head start to escape. That just leaves you with the proof of termination to bring back to Steros for the client if you can manage it. Your fingers twitch at your side and you're reminded of the presence of your saber by its tapping against your shin in your boot as you shift a bit.

Kylo's head snaps his sights back to you again and you begin to feel a slight pressure in your frontal lobe. You bite the inside of your cheek and keep your focus on Hux, forcing your mind back to the conversation, realizing this must be the mind tricks Steros was talking about.

"What was that?" Kylo asks.

"Hm?" You ask. "I'm sorry?"

"What did you just say?" He asks again.

"I... I didn't say anything, sir." You say, struggling to keep your mind off of your mission.

"Anyways," Hux says, "We are ready to depart, sir."

"Let's go." Kylo says before turning around and exiting.

You're relieved to return to your quarters at the end of the evening, mentally exhausted from the constant fight to keep your mind off of your mission and struggling to keep up with all of the technical terms used at the bridge without giving yourself away. Today, you were close to getting caught- too close. Steros was right; this would be a much more difficult mission than you'd ever taken on before, even for a bounty hunter of your caliber. As the heels of your boots click on the shiny floors of the hallways for the command quarters, you breathe a sigh of relief at finally being alone and let your mind wander. 

You needed to get Hux alone if you were to have any chance at eliminating him discreetly, let alone a chance to do that and be able to escape, and you could only hope you would have the time to provide proof of elimination in-between all of this. You would use your saber, as quickly as possible, and take his blaster before making your escape. You'd have to either follow him to somewhere close to the hangar or get him over there somehow, which felt impossible considering you knew nothing about his routine and had no excuse to follow him around.

Tomorrow, you would- 

Your thoughts are abruptly interrupted by the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, and a familiar feeling of the heightened alertness you felt at the bridge washing through your veins and causing you to stop in your tracks as you turn around to look behind you.

Nothing.

If I don't calm down and control my thoughts, I'll definitely get caught. -You think to yourself, peering down the hallway and trying to calm your accelerating heart rate.

You decide to turn back and continue to your quarters, but you find yourself slamming straight into someone and stumbling backwards, followed by an audible gasp that escapes your lips.  
Confirming your internal fears, you look up to see the emotionless masked face that is Kylo Ren.

"Uh- sir." You say, standing at attention. "I'm sorry, I must not have been watching where I was going."

"No, you weren't." He responds simply, his gaze looking you up and down, seemingly as if he was either trying to size you up or figure you out.

"I- my apologies, Commander. I'll be on my way." You stutter, caught off-guard by him once again.

"No." He says simply, continuing to block your path. "You still haven't explained to me how a first-line Command Sergeant got assigned to the bridge- I find that suspicious."

"My apologies sir, but I really don't have an answer for you." You say honestly, forgoing the part where you were hacked into your position, of course.

"I find myself without an answer as well. It seems your staff profile is disappointingly barren of information. Care to explain?"

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Your previous training history, your planet of origin to name a few."

"I'm from Naboo, sir." You say, accustomed to using Naboo as part of your cover story on all of your missions. "What was the other question?"

Kylo takes another step closer, his head angling further down to stare at you through your height difference. You feel yourself taking a deep gulp of saliva while you stare forward at his chest, avoiding eye contact and focusing on the black fabric that spans across his wide torso.

"Look at me when you speak to me. At ease." He orders.

You try to relax, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. The smooth, metallic frame where his eyes should be doesn't expose any emotion, hiding his expression completely.

"You're nervous."

"No I'm not." You answer immediately. 

"Yes, you are." He insists, followed by the familiar feeling of a slight pressure upon your frontal lobe. "Why?"

You don't answer, trying to contemplate a reasonable explanation without mentally giving anything away.

"A Command Sergeant should be experienced enough in maintaining their composure. Yet here you are, acting as if you've got something to hide. Blocking me from your thoughts."

"I was hoping to retire to my quarters after a long and strenuous first day of being questioned of my placement- something that I still don't have the answer to- so that I may rest and approach tomorrow with a fresh, more motivated perspective....Sir." You say, pleasing even yourself with your quick wit, improvising being one of your best talents. "I didn't sleep well last night, so maintaining respectful thoughts regarding my experience today in front of my superior is the least I could manage."

The pressure on your frontal lobe releases suddenly. "And why would you need to manage your thoughts around me?"

"If you're asking me to speak openly, I've heard rumors, sir." You say. "Regarding subordinates possessing... unfavorable opinions about their assignments here. I don't intend to make the same mistake."

"Hm," He breathes under his mask, never looking away from me. "Smart girl."

You stand still for a moment, calming your breathing as he keeps the same awkward glare down at you, but unable to break your gaze.

"So... may I retire to my quarters, sir?" You ask, feeling an involuntary chill going down your spine.

He doesn't waver, emotion still absent in the blank stare of his mask. "You may."

He stays in place, so you sidestep around him and continue down the hall, feeling his gaze on your back as you walk away. You don't need to turn back around to check if he's still watching- the hairs still alert on the back of your neck answer that question for you.

Once back in your quarters, you're finally able to take a deep breath of relief and contemplate what had just happened.

There was something compelling about Commander Ren that sent a deep, deadly chill to the depths of your bones. And you were on his radar.


	2. Coruscant

You were surviving day-to-day on the Finalizer- not easily, but you were getting by.

Lieutenant Myra hated you with a burning passion for some godforsaken reason that you couldn't fathom- you reported for duty on-time, worked hard (even though none of this was even your real job), and even managed to have a decent and respectful attitude under her command. But for some reason, she just had her nose up your rear end all day every day, watching you and waiting for you to make a mistake. If you even did as much as breathe the wrong way, she would practically jump down your spine trying to attack you, only to be shut down by Hux who seemed to possess a particular distaste for her entitlement to authority on the bridge. You'd thought it had to do with his own insecurities.  
The task of keeping your mind off of your mission while actively working it proves to be mentally strenuous, considering the fact that you have to work by Kylo Ren often and find him frequently intruding on your thoughts for reasons unknown to you. You try not to mind it or to allow his intrusion to occupy you mentally, not wanting to give away any information. When he wasn't intruding on your thoughts, Kylo was in and out of the bridge performing his duties. But when you did see him, he would frequently lash out in violence and take his temper out on staff members. By the end of your first week, you'd seen more violence on the bridge than you'd seen in even your busiest week working for the Guild.

You studied Hux as much as possible from a distance- his mannerisms, his reactions to those around him, and his attitude throughout the day. He seems to have anger issues like Kylo, but didn't ever seem to act on them physically like Kylo did on a daily basis. To your satisfaction, Hux seemed to be obsessed with his daily routine- he eats, paces, and patrols the same areas at the same hours every day. His quarters weren't too far from yours, so considering the fact that the hangar wasn't too far away, that would be a perfect line of attack- if he didn't retire to his quarters at the same exact time as everyone else and pass through a crowded hallway every day.

You didn't desire to delay Hux in his nightly retirement to get him alone, noticing that anything outside of his normal routine would immediately send him into an angry tirade. You'd likely just have to try to keep your routine as close to his as possible and wait for the right moment. The risk of getting caught was too grave for you to entertain as you easily could if you were trying to finish the mission on the comfort of a planet.

"We are approaching Coruscant, sir." Lieutenant Myra announces to Hux as we come out of lightspeed one tiring morning.

You hide a yawn in your arm, still struggling to adjust to the schedule on the Finalizer. You shuffle your feet a bit in place to wake yourself up as the ship comes to a halt in Coruscant's atmosphere, also being awoken by the flashing lights reflecting off of the skyscrapers of the city as the ship gets closer.

"Atwell, you are to accompany Commander Ren on his journey into Coruscant; please report to the hangar." Hux orders.

Just as you're about to respond, Lieutenant Myra interjects. "Sir, I thought I was to accompany him?"

"Negative, you are needed here."

"But-"

Hux shoots her a glare across the bridge as the pilots keep their eyes down to avoid getting involved. You oblige Hux's order, feeling Lieutenant Myra's eyes burning a hold in the back of your head as you exit the bridge. You'd always enjoyed your missions on Coruscant and looked forward to experiencing the nostalgia of job's past, but were conflicted by reluctancy to lose time studying Hux by leaving the ship.

You organize the stormtroopers for the trip and board them on a transport, only to find Kylo hasn't shown up yet. Instead, the other Command Sergeant you had met on the first day of your mission shows up.

"My apologies for the delay, Atwell." Command Sergeant Dane says as he hustles up to the transport, his cheerful disposition clearly being his normal attitude.

"I saw you were assigned to personnel." You comment as he approaches. "I trust you're enjoying it?"

"Very much so!" He says enthusiastically, taking his position next to you at the entrance of the transport ramp. He leans back and forth on his toes as you wait, his rookie-like excitement evident and obnoxious, though you were certain this was not on purpose. "But I'm sure it's not nearly as cool as what you get to do at the bridge, I'm sure."

"I basically just check in with the pilots every morning and handle tasks that Lieutenant Myra usually completes in order to free her time up. That, and I fetch beverages when needed. I'm practically an intern." You answer, certain that you'd probably be more upset about your lack of real work if this were your actual career.

"But... you get to work with them, right?"

"Who?"

"You know..." He leans in a bit closer and lowers his voice. "... General Hux and Commander Ren."

"Oh- of course." You say. "They're fine to work with."

"Really?" He asks dubiously, furrowing his light brows, his pale green eyes scanning the room as if he's doing something wrong. "That's not what I heard."

"What are you referring to?" 

He takes a deep breath as if deciding to speak were a difficult decision. "I heard Commander Ren has quite the temper."

"I.." You trail off for a moment, carefully contemplating your wording, knowing he would show up at any moment and prioritizing your need to lay low. "... everyone knows that."

"I heard he killed someone."

I've seen him kill at least five in the last few days, where have you been?- You think to yourself.

"He's very passionate about the goals of the First Order." You finally say, content with your phrasing.

"Ah. I get it." He says, tilting his head. "The man's terrifying, even to me."

You peer at Dane out of the corner of your eye, realizing that even with Dane's size and muscular build, him having at least a head's height over you, that even he would probably look tiny next to Kylo's massive frame.

As if you had called him again, you hear Kylo's footsteps echoing across the hangar. Both you and Dane fall back into attention on either side of the ramp.

"Good morning, Commander Ren." Dane greets as Kylo approaches.

Kylo doesn't respond. Instead, he shoots you a glance as he passes both of you to enter the ship.

"Have you two been briefed on today's agenda?" Kylo later asks as the transport leaves the finalizer and approaches Coruscant.

"Negative, sir." Dane says.

A mechanical sigh echoes from Kylo's helmet, his impatience evident. "We have a liaison unit stationed on Coruscant in the old Senate District. They have received reports of Resistance sympathizers and have a handful of leads for us to investigate."

"Lieutenant Grismal had advised me that our goal today was to make a presence, sir. Is that still accurate?" Dane asks.

"Negative." Kylo says definitively. "I shall handle any leads as I see fit. If we locate any Resistance members or sympathizers, I shall decide upon their fate immediately."

You hadn't planned on speaking up, but you secretly feared making enemies with the Resistance, seeing that you believe them to be the Guild's client and don't want to ruin the mission and lose the potential reward.

"Sir, if I might make a recommendation if appropriate- wouldn't it be more helpful to capture the suspects and interrogate them? To try to get more information on the Resistance's base?"

Kylo stands to face you and Dane, and you immediately feel a heavy pressure on your shoulders pushing you backwards and sending you gliding backwards. An audible thump fills the air from the sound of yours and Dane's backs slamming against the wall opposite from Kylo.

"I am your Commander." Kylo snaps from under his mask. "I say what we shall do with the Resistance scum. Your job is to obey, not to make suggestions. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Dane mutters next to you.

You attempt a nod, your mind instinctively going to your saber still conveniently tucked in your boot, begging to be whipped out and torn through Kylo's flesh.

Kylo's helmet cocks slightly and you begin to feel the dreaded pressure on your frontal lobe again, feeling a voice in the back of your head screaming at you to distract yourself. You frantically try to drag your mind away from the thought of your saber.

"Speak." Kylo orders.

"Yes... Sir." You mutter through the growing pressure.

The force around your shoulders releases after a few moments, allowing you and Dane to relax back against your seats. Kylo sits back down across from you during the landing on Coruscant, never breaking his stare at you and Dane through the silence.

By the time you get all of the stormtroopers off of the ship, it's nighttime on Corsucant and bustling in the heart of the city. The echo of music and countless voices ring through the air from a distance. You and Dane assure the ramp extends safely and secure the platform before Kylo exits the ship, leading you both into the Capitol building with the Stormtroopers.

"Good evening, Commander Ren." The Sullustan liaison greets as you all enter the Capitol and begins to attempt to make small talk with Kylo.

You and Dane silently follow Kylo behind the liaison deep into the Capitol building, the sound of the stormtroopers' boots hitting the ground in-sync behind you, eerily echoing off the walls of the long hallway. You allow your eyes to wander in your peripherals, scanning the dark, empty hallways of the building that used to house the Galactic Senate many years ago.

"Right this way, Commander." The liaison motions to an oversized archway leading into a large meeting room.

You motion for the stormtroopers to wait at attention in the hall and follow Kylo and Dane inside.

"Commander Ren!" The other liaison says while motioning for the three of you to sit at the opposite end of a conference table. "Thank you very much for seeing us this evening."

"I trust you have the leads that we discussed?" Kylo asks under his mask, assertive in his tone, making the liaison squirm in his seat slightly. The energy in the room is evidently uncomfortable- you've noticed Kylo tends to have that effect on people.

"Yes, sir." The first liaison answers. "We have received reports of a few small leads, none too noteworthy, aside from one that seems to be a recurring tip we receive weekly."

"We've received quite a few reports of a recruitment-based gathering that occurs weekly, usually around this time, at a club on the other side of the district." The other liaison explains, pulling up a holograph of the outside of the club from across the table. "Our sources have reported that this gathering usually takes place underneath a club on the west side of the old Senate district with restricted access." 

"And the numbers?" Kylo asks.

"The meetings usually consist of approximately twenty-or-so subjects, sir."

"Understood." Kylo says, unreadable as he watches the liaisons from across the table. "We will be instigating the issue this evening. You may direct any further useful information to our contacts at the First Order."

Before the liaisons can contribute any more information, Kylo abruptly stands and you and Dane jump to your feet to keep up as he leaves the room without another word. You all waste no time in traveling downtown in the old Senate District to rally in an abandoned hangar not too far from the target location. Kylo organizes the stormtroopers as he illiterates a plan to you and Dane.

"We need to assess the situation and gather as much intel as possible before sending the troops in." Kylo explains

"Atwell and I can go into the bar and try to get more information if it helps, sir." Dane suggests, clearly enthusiastic to get involved.

"Negative. We will need someone to stay and coordinate with the troops. I will investigate the scene with Sergeant Atwell before you direct them into the bar."

"Why me?" You ask instinctively, regretting it immediately and remembering the need to bite your tongue.

Kylo turns his head towards you, pausing before speaking. "You'll make a good distraction."

"Excuse me?" You ask, raising your brows.

"Will following an order be a problem, Command Sergeant Atwell?" He asks, his energy shifting.

You very quickly remember your duty- follow along and perform well-enough to make it back to the Finalizer to finish your job.

"No, sir. There's no problem."

"Good. You'll need to blend in. Take Command Sergeant Dane with you and find something to wear while I brief Supreme Leader Snoke on the situation."

You reluctantly turn on your heel and storm off, resisting the urge to attempt to rip Kylo's head off for using you just because you would "make a good distraction". As you walk off, you begin to feel a slight pulsing on your frontal lobe. You don't fight it- not much caring if Commander Ren knows you're pissed-off.

"Where should we go?" Dane asks, seemingly excited for his boots to be on the ground.

"What are you so happy about?" You ask, glaring ahead of you and storming into the closest alley leading out to the street.

Dane speeds up to keep pace with you. "We're on Coruscant on a mission and you're going undercover- how aren't you excited?"

"I was only chosen because I'd make 'a good distraction'. Not because I'm good at my job. Trust me: if you were a woman, you'd be offended too." You clench your teeth, suddenly remembering how lucky you are to have the respect of everyone back home on Tatooine. 

"I wish I could get myself in there undercover like you. Maybe, just try to see the positives in this?" He suggests tentatively, observing your frustration. "At least you get to do something."

"I get to be a piece of ass." You remark, rolling your eyes. "That's hardly something."

Dane doesn't comment further, respecting your silence as you turn onto the crowded streets of the old Senate district. You try not to anger yourself further by getting upset over a job that you're only functioning in to get closer to your real job- killing Hux. You bite down on the edges of your tongue and take deep breaths through your frustration as you lead Dane out into the streets. 

The streets of Coruscant are just as you'd remembered them: alight, bustling, and much too quick-paced for someone to notice any suspicious activity. It was your favorite place to engage in said suspicious activity, seeing as nobody ever noticed if someone disappeared. It doesn't take you long to find a boutique and you beeline for the first one you can find.

The woman working the quaint boutique smiles and greets you as you enter. "Good evening, how may I help you?"

"Good evening." You say. "I need an outfit. Something that will fit in with the nightlife here."

"I'd be most obliged to help you with that. Do you have any style or color preferences?"

"No. Actually... dark. Comfortable. Something with pants." You decide.

"Yes, m'am." She says. "Please follow me to the fitting room."

"That won't be necessary. Please just choose something- I trust your judgement."

The woman returns and you pay for the outfit, settling on a pair of tall, heeled boots to go with it, being the only shoes with enough room to hide your saber.

By the time you return to the abandoned building, Kylo isn't anywhere to be seen.

"Command Sergeant Atwell, Command Sergeant Dane." One of the Stormtroopers says. "Commander Ren instructed us to wait here for your direction and advised he will be meeting you at the target location."

"Understood." Dane says. "I'll get us started."

You round the corner and find a secluded area to change into the outfit.

To your dismay, it's much tighter than you'd thought it would be- a full-length, low-cut, leather bodysuit. Thankfully, the fabric is still stretchy-enough for you to still have room to move and the boots fit over the legs of the bodysuit easily with room for you to slip the saber in; there's no chance you'd risking leaving it with Dane. You pull your hair out of your tight bun and convert it to a long ponytail, letting your natural hair hang down your back and tuck your First Order blaster into your saber-less boot.

"Ready." You comment as you meet back up with Dane.

He turns to you, blushing slightly at the sight of you.

"You look great." He says simply, careful not to upset you after your earlier conversation. "The bar is just around the corner. If you run into any trouble, we'll be here. Let us know when you're ready for us."

With a nod, you turn and walk back out towards the street, looking forward to the opportunity to be alone. The club isn't difficult to find- it's the only club large enough to even have enough space for a secret underground area within blocks. There's a line, but it's full of men waiting to get in. You manage your best stride to the front of the line, and the guard at the front motions for you to enter without question.

The club is much larger on the inside than it appeared to be from the outside, sprawling with a massive bar in the center of the room and several scantily-dressed dancers dancing on platforms throughout the area. Flashing lights glisten off of the mirrored walls, causing you to have to peer through your lashes to adjust at first.

You approach the bar and take a seat at the only open barstool, relieved to be doing something that feels normal for the first time all week. 

"What can I get you?" The tall server asks.

"Something strong that will get me from point A to point B as quickly as possible." You answer with a smile.

"You got it."

By the time you have your drink, someone's already approaching you.

"Good evening." A tall, light-haired man says as leans against the bar. "What are you drinking?"

"I don't know and I don't care." You say as you take a sip.

"I'll have what she's having." He says to the server, looking you up and down. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this all alone?"

"Don't call me 'girl'." You say, scanning the crowd but not entirely sure what you're looking for.

"My apologies, baby. What's a woman like you-"

"Don't call me 'baby', either." You cut him off.

"Well, what do you like to be called?"

"Untouchable. Not interested."

"Come on, everyone's got a soft spot." He chuckles, leaning across the bar to get his drink from the server. "Let me buy you another drink."

"I said I'm not interested." You snap again, now annoyed.

He leans in slightly, looking down at you with a gaze as if he's undressing you with his eyes. "What's a man got to do to-"

"I said..." You say, turning slightly to him with a raised brow. "... I'm not. Interested."

"What, do you have a boyfriend or something?"

"I don't need to have a boyfriend for you to leave me the hell alone."

He rolls his eyes at your answer, chuckling as he takes a swig of his drink. You can see his eyes out the corner of your vision and can tell he's going to be persistent.

"Tell me something." You say, looking back towards the crowd. "Ever seen a man's balls sliced off and shoved down his throat?"

He freezes for a moment.

You turn back to him. "Because you're about to."

His complexion pales slightly as he glances away for a moment before leaving without another word.

You smirk to yourself, relieved that you can finally enjoy your drink, guzzling down the rest of it in no time.

"Another one for you, m'am." The server says, sliding another glass across the bar. "From the gentleman at the booth."

"Hm." You say with a shrug, accepting the drink. "Thank you."

"He asked me to request your presence." The server says, nodding across the room.

You turn to see a secluded booth across the room occupied by a man sitting in the darkness. 

"I'll pass. But thank you for delivering my drink." You say with a smile.

You turn back to examine the rest of the room, searching for any signs of the Resistance but not completely sure what you were even looking for. Nobody seems to stand out in the crowd, and you contemplate if you need to be searching for something different or checking elsewhere and decide to walk a lap around the club.

As you cross the club, several men of different species try to stop you for drinks or dancing. One even gets a bit too touchy and earns a prompt shove against the wall as you pass by. By the time you've rounded the room, you've still not found any leads. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot the man sitting in the darkness at the booth in the corner again. He gazes at you, his facial features indiscernible in the shadows. He raises a finger and motions for you to join him.

You shake your head in annoyance- he raises his hand and motions again.

With the roll of your eyes, you turn away and raise your glass to your lips.

But instead of being able to take a sip, you find yourself frozen under an unknown pressure constricting your muscles. The pressure forces your head to turn back to the booth against your will.

The man continues to sit in the shadows, his hand still raised in the same motion- you immediately realize who he must be. You're released from the pressure and reluctantly turn to cross the room and approach the booth as he watches you intently while you come to a stop.

"Sit." The man's deep voice says through the shadows.

You oblige, entering the booth and sitting across from him, crossing your legs. "Commander Ren."

"Any signs of them?" He asks through the darkness.

"Negative." You say. "I am, after all, just a distraction."

Kylo stares at you through the darkness, taking you in as you sip on your drink before he leans forward into the light.

You realize in shock that Kylo is wearing robes similar to his normal attire, but is sitting before you unmasked. You can't help but pause for a moment, finding yourself unable to tear your eyes away like when you first saw him on the bridge. You'd always found yourself attracted to power, but didn't expect your body's immediate, involuntary physical reaction at the sight of his face.

Kylo's expression was as you'd expected- emotionless, slightly angry if anything- but his face sparked a warmth in your lower torso. His angled face was framed by dark locks of hair, his eyes a deep, dark brown and his stare intense, glaring into your eyes as if he was looking right at your soul. His plump lips were slightly-parted as he ran his tongue on the inside of his cheek while peering across the booth at you. You found yourself captivated with his gaze- a feeling you'd never experienced before.

"You... aren't wearing your helmet." You state aloud, finding yourself at a loss of words and forcing yourself to refocus.

Kylo cocks his head slightly, and you feel the now-familiar pressure on your frontal lobe.

"You don't need to do that, you know." You say. "If you want to know something, then ask."

"Fine. What are you thinking?"

"That we're probably going to have to do some more digging if we're going to find that Resistance meeting." You say. "My best guess is that we should start with-"

"That's not what I'm talking about." He says. "You give off a constant feeling of alarm every time I'm nearby. It's the same feeling that prisoners give off when I interrogate them, like you're trying   
to hide something. Especially right now."

"I've just never seen you without a mask. Can we move on now?"

"What are you trying so hard to hide?"

The mere thought of keeping your mind off of your true mission forces it to the forefront of your thoughts. You suppress it, choosing to focus on Kylo's eyes instead and feeling your heart skip a beat.

"I've got nothing to hide."

"You want to attack me." He says, his eyes intent on yours as the pressure on your frontal lobe increases.

"No." You argue.

"Tell me the truth."

"I've got no qualms with you, personally." You say honestly. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'm just trying to do my job."

"Hm." He releases the pressure.

You breathe a sigh of relief, thankful to have missed that close call. "Where should we begin?"

"We need to find the underground space the liaisons mentioned. There must be some kind of entrance in here. It's not accessible from outside the club."

"Well, that's easy." You say. "There's a VIP area behind the bar. Obviously, that's where we need to be."

"Fine. Follow me." He says while standing up.

"Um-" You say hesitantly at the sight of his ridiculously-tall frame, this being the first time you were this close to him. "You should probably follow me. You kinda... stand out."

He scans you with his eyes briefly, his eyes momentarily pausing at your chest before returning to your gaze. "So do you."

"Just... follow me." You say, scooting out of the booth. 

Kylo follows you across the bar to the guarded VIP entrance. As you approach, the tall Trandoshan guard steps directly in front of you, blocking the doorway.

"Name?" He asks.

"You know who I am." You lie, rolling your eyes.

"I'm afraid I don't. This area is restricted access. VIP only." He insists, unwavering as he crosses his arms.

"I beg your pardon?!" You ask, raising your voice. "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

The guard shuffles in place slightly, clearly trying to maintain his composure.

You step closer and lower your voice, preparing a story. "My name is Ophelia Organa- I'm General Organa's niece. And I'm late to our meeting, so I suggest you step aside before my partner and I are forced to report this discrepancy to your supervisor." You lie, making everything up as you go- something you'd always been good at.

"Alright, I- um..." He stammers, seeming almost like he might fall for it, but slightly uncertain. "I understand... let me get my supervisor to meet with you and verify your identity so you can be on your way."

Kylo steps forward, raising his hand slightly. "You don't need to do that. We are who we claim to be, and you're going to let us through."

"You know what?" The guard says. "I don't need to do that. I'm sure you are who you claim to be- I'm going to let you through."

You feel the corner of your mouth turn up slightly and stifle a smirk at the result of Kylo's abilities as Kylo leads you through the door and down the dark staircase that leads to a private area. The   
room looks similar to the area upstairs, but instead of music and drinking, everyone sits throughout the room solemnly and mingles quietly as if they're waiting for something to happen.

"Lay low. We don't need any attention drawn to ourselves." Kylo whispers.

You stand next to Kylo along the outskirts of the room and lean back against a wall, keeping your head down and avoiding making eye contact with anyone. There must be at least twenty to thirty Resistance members here- all of a variety of species, different shapes, different sizes, and all dressed differently.

"What are we going to do?" You whisper to Kylo, realizing you might not have time to get any stormtroopers in here.

"Observe." Kylo says, keeping his head down but while scanning the room with his eyes. "Once we have enough intel, we can leave and send the troops in."

"Won't someone recognize you?"

"I don't see anyone I know here." He answers.

As you wait, you look out the corner of your eye up at Kylo, his face now in the light. If you couldn't feel the dark power pulsating through the air surrounding him and hadn't seen the countless First Order staff members he'd murdered in front of you in the last week, you would swear his face almost looked angelic.

"What." He says without even looking over at you.

"Hm?" You ask, looking away.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not."

"You were."

"You just look... different without your helmet on."

"Different?"

"Less intimidating." You say under your breath, flushed and irritated with yourself for even letting yourself be distracted.

"You seem to forget you're speaking to your superior." He responds, his expression slightly agitated. "I would suggest you watch your mouth."

Or what? You think to yourself, as if he'd do something publicly in this setting.

"Or I'll have to correct your behavior." He answers your thoughts aloud.

Your lips part slightly, wanting to respond, but you bite your tongue yet again.

"Good evening!" A booming voice says from the front of the room. Everyone falls silent.

You turn to see a dark-haired man standing in the center of the room, waiting for everyone to quiet down. His brown eyes scan the room as he counts those in attendance before speaking, hitching his hands on either side of his orange vest.

"I see our numbers have grown since our last gathering here. For those that I have not met yet, I am Commander Poe Dameron of the Resistance. General Organa asked me to personally lead tonight's introduction, and sends her sincere gratitude for the risk you're all taking by being here." He announces, the passion in his voice already imminent.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Kylo's expression change slightly at the mention of General Organa, an expression you've never seen from him before flashing in his eyes. His jaw clenches and his lips purse slightly, focusing on Poe.

"If you're here tonight, it's because you want change. Because you believe in something bigger, something better than our dictatorship can ever give us- freedom. And showing up tonight is the first step. That being said, I too thank you for attending this evening. We're still growing as a movement, but we have stronger numbers than ever before, and we're ready to take back control of our galaxy." Poe continues.

"How many of you are there?" A man in the group asks.

"We currently are around-" 

Poe is cut off by another Trandoshan guard hustling down the stairs and walking straight up to him.

"Just a moment, please." Poe says, turning to the guard.

The guard rapidly whispers something to Poe and asks him a question, followed by Poe's expression falling, his eyes suddenly grave. His eyes dart in your direction.

"General Organa doesn't have a niece." Poe mutters.

You feel your heart skip a beat- they knew.

Poe suddenly pulls a blaster from his waistband. "Everyone out! We've been compromised!"

Suddenly, all hell breaks loose, and the sound of yelling and panic ensues as everyone jumps to their feet and runs towards the exit. Kylo pulls his saber out from his waistband and ignites it as everyone scrambles throughout the room, screaming. 

Your hand twitches slightly, fighting your instinct to reach down into your boot for your saber in response.

Poe lifts his blaster and shoots in your direction. You flinch at the sound of the firing, and a flash ensues in front of you as Kylo swipes his saber through the air to deflect the attack. You quickly pull your blaster and aim at Poe, pulling the trigger.

Your shot fires through the air and smacks straight into Poe's shoulder, knocking him down to the ground.

A crowd of the panicked Resistance recruits is still gathered at the bottom of the stairs, pushing frantically into the crowded staircase. Kylo ignores them and raises a hand, causing the power of the force to vibrate through the atmosphere as Poe is brought up into mid-air. He flies across the room and straight up to Kylo's outstretched hand, his fingers wrapping around Poe's throat.

"Go." Kylo orders. "Get the troopers."

You take off in the direction of the staircase, pushing past the last few people filing up the stairs.

The club is chaos- screaming and panic fill the air as everyone on the main level beelines for the front door. You shove your way through the bodies of passerbyers and out to the street, running for the back alley towards the abandoned hangar.

Dane catches your eye as the hangar comes into your sight.

"Now!" You yell.

Dane throws you Kylo's helmet and you lead the stormtroopers towards the chaos.

The stormtroopers waste no time in marching down the alley and approaching the club. You get as much of a headstart as possible, the club now near-empty, and find Kylo walking through the bar, his hand dragging Poe alongside him by the back of his neck. Kylo throws Poe at your feet as you hand him his helmet.

You pull Poe up his feet, detaining his arms behind his back through his groaning in pain as the stormtroopers begin to clear the club and detain people in the street.

"Take him to the ship." Kylo orders as he puts his helmet back on, the hissing turning his voice mechanical and erasing the image you'd finally gotten to see in his unmasked time with you.

"Yes, sir." One of the stormtroopers says as you hand Poe off, his incessant groaning filling the air.

"And get him medical- we can't have him dying on us." You say.

"Check for any others from the meeting." Kylo orders you, motioning back to the stairs.

You run another check of the downstairs area and scan the bar- nobody. The stormtroopers interrogate a few people outside, but it seems you missed the majority of the Resistance recruits.

"There's nobody else, Commander." You say.

"He couldn't have come alone." Kylo says. "Back to the ship, now."

You all rush back to the transport ship by the abandoned building and board, pushing to keep up with Kylo's long strides.

"Lock the planet down." Kylo orders the pilot. "Nobody gets in or out."

"Yes, sir." The pilot says before she begins to communicate to the Finalizer.

The ship takes off rapidly, and the pilots begin to scan Coruscant.

"One ship is ascending above the city, sir." The same pilot says.

"Nobody leaves!" Kylo orders. "Find them!"

Your ship shoots across the sky as the pilots track down the small ship pulling away from Coruscant.

"It appears to be a Resistance fighter ship, sir!" The other pilot yells as she zones in on it.

"Take them down!" Kylo yells.

You begin to gain on the fighter, their shape coming into sight in front of the ship. The fighter suddenly drops, descending back into the city and speeding away from you.   
"Hold on!" The pilot yells before jerking your ship down, causing everyone to stumble.

Your ship nose-dives down through the sky in pursuit of the Resistance fighter, causing your stomach to drop, and pulling up just before colliding with a building. The Resistance fighter begins to weave in and out of buildings, your bulky ship struggling to keep up.

"Don't let them get away!" Kylo orders.

The agile Resistance fighter continues to weave in and out, causing your ship to fall behind.

Kylo groans in anger before shoving one of the pilots out of his chair and takes his place. Suddenly, the ship jerks forward with an increase in speed and you begin to gain on the Resistance fighter again.

Kylo pilots the ship quickly, impulsively, and catches up to the Resistance fighter. It suddenly pulls upward towards the sky.

"They're going to jump to lightspeed!" One of the pilots warns.

"No, they're not!" Kylo yells, jerking the ship upwards and bringing the Resistance fighter closer. 

The fighter comes completely in view, the beeping of the proximity blaster alerting you of its distance.

"FIRE!" Kylo yells.

The ship shakes slightly as one single, massive blast is shot from your cannon at the Resistance fighter- and immediately makes direct contact with the fighter, lighting the sky up with a bright orange explosion and immediately turning the fighter you were pursuing into nothing.

From across the ship, you hear Poe scream angrily.

Kylo breathes through his fury, his brows furrowed as he glares out the window at the burning fragments of what used to be the fighter falling through the sky back towards Coruscant.

"Go ensure the prisoner is secured." He orders.

You nod and stand, your legs shaking as adrenaline spikes your veins. You'd been in thousands of life-or-death situations, but you'd never been through anything like that before.


	3. The Interrogation

By the time you change back to your uniform, locate the holding cell on the ship, and brief Sergeant Dane on the situation, the adrenaline has managed to filter out of your body from your pursuit after the Resistance fighter.

You enter the holding cell to see Poe Dameron leaning against the glass wall separating you, his shoulder wrapped in medical dressing and his face an exhausted image of distress and disappointment.

"How's your shoulder?" You ask as you approach the glass, crossing your arms.

"Not great, considering you shot me." Poe remarks, his angry gaze lifting to meet yours through the surface dividing you.

"I doubt I hit anything vital if you've still got the energy to be sarcastic with me." You shrug as your eyes move to his shoulder, wrapped with gauze from the medical unit. "You'll survive."

"You're fairly unprofessional for a First Order Sergeant."

"Ouch. And you're fairly calm considering you're speaking to the unprofessional First Order Sergeant who shot you not too long ago."

"I'll survive." He parrots you.

"Hm." You cock your head, studying his posture. "You know, I can't help but wonder- why would the strong, fearless Resistance try to recruit from Coruscant? I mean, it's such a closely-monitored planet considering it's the home of the old Senate district, you'd think the Resistance would focus on weaker, more impressionable planets."

"You know, I think you looked much better in the leather number you had on earlier." He says, ignoring your question.

"And I think you looked much better being dragged by the neck by my Commander, but you don't hear me reminiscing." You snap back. "Why Coruscant? You desperate?"

His eyes scan you. "Are you?"

"You know, I'd be very cautious if I were you. Commander Ren will not tolerate you speaking to him the way you're speaking to me. You're lucky I'm patient."

"And you're lucky there's a glass wall between us."

You roll your eyes. "So are you."

Your conversation is cut short by the holding cell door opening with a hiss, followed by the sound of a heavy pair of footsteps entering the room.

Poe's gaze shifts to the sight of Kylo entering the room, taking a deep breath. 

"How is our prisoner?" Kylo asks.

"Rude. But fine." You say, moving to exit the room.

"Stay." Kylo orders.

You return back to your spot across the room, leaning against a back wall. Kylo takes a few steps forward to the glass until he's merely a few feet away from Poe.

"Where is your base?" Kylo asks.

Poe stares back at Kylo in silence. They stand there for a few moments, both unwavering.

"I asked you a question. Where is your base?"

Poe shrugs, tapping his foot.

"Ah, I see." Kylo's mechanical voice echoes through the holding cell as he raises a hand. "You want to do this the difficult way."

Poe remains relaxed for a moment before his expression changes slightly, a frown grazing his forehead. His hand raises to his head as a low groan escapes his lips.

Kylo's head tilts to the side slightly, his helmet still hiding his face as always, but still giving off an intense focus. "Don't fight it. It will only make it more difficult for you."

Poe quivers slightly, but he purses his lips firmly and groans through the pain.

"Hm... really?" Kylo wonders aloud before turning his head to look at you. "Interesting."

".... what?" You ask, unsure why he's staring at you.

"We're almost back to the Finalizer. Keep our friend company."

"Yes, sir." You answer.

You sit in silence with Poe until the ship pulls into the Finalizer's hangar and assist the stormtroopers in moving him off the ship. 

"Will you be needing anything else, Commander?" Dane asks Kylo once the ship is cleared.

"No. You may retire."

You eagerly return to your quarters, allowing Dane to rant about how much he enjoyed the mission at Coruscant as you both walk back to the command wing. Even though Dane did practically nothing, he still goes on and on about his experience in overlooking the stormtroopers doing the real work and asks you endless questions about what happened in the club. You leave out the part where you got to see Kylo's face- not enjoying the way you had the urge to allow a smile to touch your lips at the thought of it.

Once you're alone in your quarters, you take a deep breath, relieved to finally have some peace and quiet for the first time in what feels like forever.

Aside from the strange circumstances surrounding your time on the Finalizer, the next day is the first day that feels almost normal since you'd arrived. You'd finally adjusted to the time change on the ship, and are even able to awaken on-time and make it to the command mess hall for breakfast without feeling rushed.

"Atwell!" You hear Dane's voice behind you as you later make your way to the bridge.

"Good morning." You say, feeling particularly cheerful yourself with your newfound energy as he catches up with you.

"I trust you slept well?" He asks, wearing a beaming smile and adjusting the collar of his uniform.

"Yes, for the first time since we arrived, thank goodness." You say. "Things are finally starting to feel normal."

"Me too, though I feel I'm starting to miss my family back home. How about you?"

At the mention of "home", you feel a sinking feeling in your stomach. You had tried so very hard to forget who you had left behind with Lairae- completely and painfully blocked him from your memory, even. You would rather risk exposing yourself, the Guild, and your true job here than to risk exposing him, and keeping your mind off of him was the only way to keep him safe. Distracting yourself had worked efficiently up to this point, but clearly you couldn't ignore the pang of guilt associated with abandoning the only one that depends on you forever.

Dane quickly notices your expression growing solemn.

"I'm so sorry, I don't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. I just haven't been away from family for this long in a very long time." You explain, trying to turn your growing despair into the hope of returning home safely and being done with this all.

"Where are you from originally?"

"Naboo." You lie again. "We're not too far from the kingdom."

"Really?! I've never been there, but I heard it's-"

"Command Sergeant Atwell." A deep voice says from behind you.

Dane's expression turns serious as you stop in the hall, his face dropping all color and going pale as he looks behind you. "Good morning, Commander Ren."

"You're coming with me." Kylo orders, ignoring Dane and motioning for you to follow him.

"Yes, sir." You say as you take off to keep up with his stride, shrugging at Dane in equal confusion as you walk away.

You follow Kylo along the same route you would take get to the bridge, but appear to be taking a detour and wonder to yourself where you might be going.

"We're going to the interrogation room." Kylo answers your thoughts aloud. "You're going to help me with our prisoner."

You release a sigh in aggravation, a risky choice in front of Kylo, realizing you're going to miss yet another day of working on your true mission. "Why?'

"Because I'm ordering you to, and your responsibility is to follow orders. Will that be a problem for you?"

"No, I-"

"Because if it will be a problem, I can always have you reassigned."

"No, sir." You say, refocusing on getting through today as quickly as possible. The sooner Kylo gets the information he wants out of the prisoner, the sooner you can return to the bridge.

"Exactly." Kylo says again, responding aloud to your thoughts. "So I suggest you remain cooperative. Do not mistake yesterday's mission for me giving you any discretion in your assigned tasks."

"Is there any particular reason I'm needed?" You think that's a good way to ask him what the hell he could possibly need from you.

"Yes." Kylo says, never turning around as you follow him down the halls. "The prisoner- he seems to desire you. Perhaps you can get more information out of him than I can."

The doors open to expose a large octagonal interrogation room, with Poe strapped down to a complex table-like stand in the room's center. Restraints bare down on his body, his face the image of exhaustion- Kylo had clearly already been working on him. A rack of tools stands in the back of the room, but they appear to be untouched.

Poe's eyes open and his head tilts slightly to see you and Kylo, a bead of sweat trickling down the smooth skin of his forehead. "You brought company."

You approach Poe slowly, examining the bruising on his face- new bruising that wasn't there last night- and turn to Kylo, wondering what he wants you to do.

"Do whatever you need to do. If we don't get any information from him, he will be disposed of anyways." Kylo answers.

You turn back to Poe. "You gonna talk or not?"

"Probably not." He answers simply.

You shrug slightly, contemplating your options, determined to get out of here as soon as possible. "Well, he said I can't get back to work until you talk, and I actually like my work, so I think you're going to talk."

"And what do you want to know, sweet cheeks?" Poe asks, now with slightly more energy.

"First of all," You start, "If you ever call me that again, I'll kill you myself. Second of all, I think you know what we want to know: where's your base?"

Poe leans his head back into the headrest again, closing his eyes. "What base?"

"Hm. Okay." You say.

You step forward and reach up without hesitation, wrapping your fingers around his jaw and feeling his muscles tense under your fingers. You yank his face back to look back at you, his eyes snapping open in shock.

"I'll ask again nicely." You say, digging your nails into his skin. "Where is your base?"

Poe squints slightly. "You have the prettiest eyes."

You feel your brows furrow in anger. 

You release his chin and whip your hand back before slapping it across his cheek as hard as you can before taking his jaw back between your fingers, now digging your nails in so deep that you're certain you're breaking skin and eliciting a groan from Poe's lips.

"And you're going to have the prettiest bruises when I'm done with you." You say. "Now, here's what's going to happen: You're going to tell me where your damn base is, and then I'm going to give you back to Commander Ren, and maybe- just maybe- he might let you live if you cooperate."

"I don't think so." Poe says.

"Alright then." You look at Kylo. "Any special requests?"

He tilts his head, holding an arm up. You can feel Kylo's force flowing through the air and pulsating through Poe's mind, causing him to clench his teeth in pain.

"Just do whatever you have to do." Kylo orders. "My patience is running thin with this one."

"Understood." You say, feeling your patience wearing thin as well.

You take a step back and walk a lap around the stand Poe is attached to, examining the buttons on the back. You locate a reclining button and hold it down, slowly reclining Poe back to a lying position- he breathes a sigh of relief at the release of pressure from his feet. You wander over to the back of the room where the tool rack stands and examine your options, choosing the first knife you see.

"Don't you have droids to all this for you?" Poe asks, peeking back at you through his peripherals.

"Of course. But I don't mind getting my hands dirty." You say, glancing up to Kylo and thinking to yourself that Kylo needs to be on-guard and ready to extract the information- Kylo nods in return. 

You stroll back to Poe as he stares up at the octagonal roof of the interrogation room, avoiding your gaze.

"Tell me, Mr. Dameron..." You say once you're by his side, reaching down and gently trailing the tip of the knife down his forearm, eager to get back to the bridge. "... What's it going to take to get you to talk?"

"Sounds like you'll have to kill me."

"I don't think so." You apply slight pressure to the knife, the tip creating a small scratch near his wrist. Poe purses his lips together. "How many of you are there?"

He doesn't respond, only breathes through the feeling of you slowly dragging the knife up Poe's arm, scratching the surface enough to make a mark but not yet drawing blood.

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." You warn, picking up the knife and touching the tip to his shoulder, pressing down slightly. 

If Poe won't talk when in a normal state of mind, then perhaps all you need to do is bring him to a different state of mind- pain or otherwise. You take your free hand and graze his chin with your fingers as you apply pressure with the knife, just enough to draw a small bloodstain through his shirt.

"Go ahead- kill me. No amount of pain will make me tell you anything." Poe declares stubbornly.

"I know that." You whisper before releasing the pressure from his shoulder.

Kylo watches you intently as you walk around to Poe's other side and rest your hand on his arms on either side of him. You brace yourself and hoist your body up, hitching one leg over Poe's hips. 

You sit just above his hips, straddling him- his eyes widen as he looks up at you.

You put one arm on the table above his shoulder and lean close, clutching the knife in your other hand and bringing the tip to Poe's jawline and tilting his chin up to you.

"Where. Is. The base." You whisper, locking your gaze in on his.

Poe doesn't break his gaze up at you as you trail the tip of the knife up and down his jawline, speechless and completely mesmerized as if it were only the two of you in the room. 

You tighten your grip on the knife and slowly dig it into his jawline, immediately drawing blood. Poe curses and groans through clenched teeth, his expression a mixture of pain and desire.

"Talk." You order, sitting up and pointing the knife at his throat. As you lean back, you feel a hardness underneath you between Poe's legs.

"No." Is all Poe can manage.

You chuckle, scooting yourself back on his torso and touching the tip of the knife down to his chest, deciding to take things to the next level. You apply pressure to the knife, feeling its tip shallowly digging into his skin, mirrored by the sound of Poe wincing as a stream of blood begins to soak through his shirt.

"Please..." You whisper, your voice smooth and low. "... tell me what I want to know."

You could tell you were making him fall apart by hardly even doing anything, his wincing arguably close to being moans, and he was close to losing control mentally- hopefully just enough for Kylo to extract the Resistance base's location. As you bring the knife down to the top of his pants, you release the pressure and stop tearing at his skin. Instead, you take the knife to his belt and yank it upward, cutting his belt off. Your other hand goes to top the button on his pants, popping it open.

Poe can't look away from you as you rest your free hand on the top of his pants, moving slowly downwards over his belt loops towards the bulge in his pants. Before you continue, you turn to Kylo with the intent to warn him to be prepared to extract the base's location once Poe is completely distracted.

But when you look at Kylo, he almost seems like he's in worse condition than Poe.

Kylo had completely backed up against the back of the interrogation room, both of his gloved hands pressed against the wall with his fingers spread as he watches you through his helmet- his tall shoulders hunched over, his breathing hitched. His shoulders rise and fall as he pants.

You keep your gaze locked on Kylo's- staring at his helmet where his eyes would be as you lean down towards Poe's face, feeling Poe's hot breath on the side of your cheek as you arch your back and slide your hand downwards across the fabric of his pants over the bulge between his legs. Out of the corner of your eye, you hear a moan escape Poe's lips.

A shudder ripples through Kylo's body as he watches you touch Poe, stimulating a tingling feeling between your legs. You can't help but think for a moment- only for a moment- what it would be like if it were Kylo lying underneath you instead of Poe.

You turn your head to look down at Poe, inches from his face. His body shivers slightly.

"Where's... your base...." You whisper.

Poe shuts his eyes, fighting Kylo's intrusion on his mind and clenches his jaw.

"N-no...." He moans.

You freeze for a moment, watching Poe struggle as Kylo raises an arm out of the corner of your eye. Poe then releases his tightened breath, relaxing from Kylo's pressure.

Suddenly Kylo stands upright, his breathing heavy as he turns and abruptly storms out of the room without a word, leaving you alone with Poe.

"Thank you, Poe." You say, sitting back up. "That'll be all."

Poe pants in exhaustion as you climb off of him and turn to put the knife back on the tool rack while wiping your hands on your uniform.

"No... I...." Poe says in-between breaths. "I didn't give you anything."

"Oh, but you sure did." You say, turning to smile down at him. "Thank you for your time."

You breathe a sigh of relief as you exit the interrogation room as quickly as you had entered, finally free to return to the bridge and get your real work done- the sooner you can take Hux out, the sooner you can return home to those who need you.

As you exit the interrogation room, your vision of the end of the hall is blocked by the image of Kylo's back facing away from you in the hallway. His shoulders are rising and falling rapidly.

"Why did you storm off like that? Did you get the base's location?" You ask, unable to pass him to go down the hallway.

Before you can say another word, Kylo whips around, towering over you with his height and radiating fury. Your instincts scream at you to run somewhere- anywhere but here, but you're too late. He raises his hand into the air and sends you flying backwards, your back slamming against the interrogation room door, your neck feeling as if there's invisible fingers wrapping around it.  
Kylo uses the force to choke you against the wall, pinning your arms to your sides. You kick your feet, gasping against the sudden constriction.

"What... why..." You ask in-between breaths, suddenly panicked.

"How did you do that?!" Kylo demands under his mask as he steps closer.

"What... are you... talking about...." You gasp deeply, your lungs aching with your struggle.

Kylo releases the force from you, dropping you down to your feet and taking your neck into his physical grip as he presses you against the wall.

Your brows furrow as you bring your hands up to grasp his forearm, trying to pull his grip away from your throat. "What are you doing?! I helped you!"

"Yes. You did. But that's obviously not the protocol taught in your interrogation training- where did you learn how to do that?" He asks angrily.

"Do what?! I don't understand what you're so upset about- you told me to do whatever I needed to do." You point out in confusion, feeling his leather grip tightening around your windpipe. "I broke... I broke down his mental barrier and you got the Resistance base's location, did you not?!"

You can feel Kylo's eyes glaring at you through his helmet as he stares down at you in silence, cautious with his words before speaking.

"You know exactly what you did."  
You roll your eyes, now aggravated, wondering how someone could be so ridiculous. "I have done every single thing you've asked over the last twenty-four hours.... You've got everything you wanted- I don't know what you're talking about."

Kylo's head shakes slightly for a moment before he finally releases his iron grip from your neck, allowing you to take in an immediate, relieving breath of air, making you light-headed. You immediately grasp the area he had affected on your neck, rubbing your skin and breathing deeply.

"Go." He orders, stepping aside. "And don't speak of this to anyone."

"Fine." You mutter, squeezing by him in the narrow hallway and taking off down the hall, eager to get out of his sight.


	4. An Inconvenience

Returning to the bridge was like returning to normality- you had never been so excited to see Hux's twisted grimace or Lieutenant Myra's glare staring into your soul every second of the day.  
Kylo had deployed to the planet of D'Qar immediately following your bizarre experience with him in the interrogation room, so you finally had the chance to think freely throughout the day without the risk of his intrusion on your thoughts. You felt so free mentally that you were even able to reminisce on your life back home and completely focus on your true mission at hand. It only took you a few more days to formulate a plan on how you were going to take Hux down in Kylo's absence. 

As discussed, you didn't tell anyone about what transpired behind the secluded doors of the interrogation room. You didn't talk about the enjoyment you felt while running the knife down Poe's torso, or the rush of power that fueled you knowing you nearly made him come undone underneath you by hardly touching him, but you especially would never bring up the fact that you didn't feel aroused throughout any of it- not until you had looked over to see Kylo shuddering in the back of the room just from watching you touch Poe.

No- you especially wouldn't be speaking to anyone about that.

Having Kylo gone was a mental relief, considering you were able to study Hux and his habits with ease to the point where you were ready to bring your plan into action. However, with the Finalizer sitting stationary and Kylo gone, bringing most of the action with him to D'Qar, there wasn't much to do on the ship on a day-to-day basis and you began to grow bored. This gave you too much time to get caught-up in your thoughts.

Was everything still safe on Tatooine? Had Lairae been able to keep what's left of your family safe? It had only been a few weeks, but you'd wondered to yourself at what point would she give up hope on your return. Once this job was done, you would finally have the kind of credits it would take to get them far away- to finally bring them somewhere safe. 

Your thoughts were also plagued by a certain darkness; A tall, cloaked darkness that wore a helmet and wielded a crackling, deep red lightsaber. Every now and then, you would remember his face and what his eyes looked like that night on Coruscant- but his face was now a fading memory, clouded by the image of the mask that hid his emotions with a blackness, dark and unknown like the abyss of space. You didn't much care about Kylo or anyone else you normally met on your missions, but you'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't wonder why he had gotten so worked-up in the interrogation room, or why he always seemed to take an interest in your thoughts. Even though your job was fake, you were only a Command Sergeant after all, and you shouldn't be important to him.

Maybe it was pride, or your lack of ability to welcome any kind of emotion into your exterior, but you refused to allow your mind to linger on him for too long and threw yourself into your work- both your fake job and your real job. And with Kylo gone, now was the best time to strike Hux down. Kylo would be returning any day now, but you couldn't miss the opportunity to complete your mission without having to worry about his intrusion.

Between the lack of work and lack of conflict on the bridge, you had taken over the majority of Lieutenant Myra's responsibilities as she tended to Hux's needs. That being said, she had practically nothing to do but micromanage you when Hux didn't have work for her.

"Did you follow up with the technicians regarding the compressor?" Lieutenant Myra asks toward the end of a long day, the same expectant sneer on her face. 

"Yes- like I had mentioned earlier, the technicians were able to transfer the compression from the broken compressor to the backup air valve." You answer, secretly content with yourself for learning so much about the Finalizer's technological background. At this point, you could practically navigate the majority of the ship blindfolded- what a valuable Resistance spy you would've made.

"But we can't jump to lightspeed without a functioning air compressor." She snaps, scrunching her nose obnoxiously as she speaks to you from across the pit.

You resist the urge to mock her, taking a deep breath through your nose as you return to your paperwork at your terminal. "Correct- that's why we transferred it to the backup air valve."

"But the air valve will only function for a handful of jumps to lightspeed." She argues, clearly confused. "You need to ensure a better solution is found; this is completely unacceptable."

"General Hux already approved the valve usage this morning." You explain, tired of her trying to find errors in your work. "The valve should be able to last at least ten more jumps to lightspeed before it's rendered useless, and we only need one to get to Starkiller if need be."

"Can't we just have a compressor transported here?"

"Due to the size, no." You answer with a sigh. "We don't possess a ship large enough to transport a replacement compressor in the time it would take for a valve not to suffice in the meantime. This is why Hux already approved the valve usage- you were present for his decision, do you not remember?"

"I- of course I remember. Don't speak to me with that tone, I'm your superior."

"What tone?" You ask, baffled.

"That's it- I'm finished speaking with you today. Go follow-up with the compression technicians regarding the repairs."

"We're not supposed to approach the compression room when there's damage to the air compressor- nobody but the technicians are permitted to be in the area due to the danger of-"

"Just go!" She orders, snapping at you in front of all of the pilots. A hush falls over the room, and suddenly all of the pilots are completely intrigued by their work, keeping their heads down.

You bite your tongue, reminding yourself that you won't have to tolerate her and her bitterness anymore after today. "Yes, m'am."

You aren't supposed to go anywhere near the compression room- not even the highest commanding officers really have access to it right now due to the explosion risk being so high as they were converting the energy from the compressor to the air valve. In consideration of this, you were not about to actually go to the compressor room and risk your life on your last day here. Instead, you head back to the command wing of the ship, deciding to waste a few minutes in your quarters. You pass by the hangar on your way, hoping to catch a glimpse of which ships are docked today to get an idea of what you might escape in once your mission is complete. But as you're getting ready to turn into the hangar, you hear a familiar voice down one of the halls- a voice so distinct, it stands out even over the loud humming of the maintenance going on in the hangar.

"And tell Commander Ren that another excursion before returning to Starkiller would be incredibly irresponsible considering the current state of our compressor." You hear Hux snap from around the corner at someone, his tone as snide as usual. "We will not be traveling to Kashyyk."

"Yes, sir." They say before walking away, their footsteps echoing towards you.

The Command Sergeant Hux must have been yelling at rounds the corner and nods at you as he passes, walking briskly towards the hangar.

It becomes very apparent to you that this could be your chance- Hux is in a secluded area right next to the hangar you need to be within a close proximity in order to escape, and nobody else was seen walking towards you. This could all be over and you could be gone in minutes.

You walk forward, soft on your tiptoes, and slowly inch your head around the corner to peek down the hall Hux was heard in.

He stands there, facing away from you, the hangar a mere twenty-or-so paces away from him at the end of the hall. He stares down at a datapad and mumbles to himself about Kashyyyk, the majority of his whispers drowned out completely by the incessant humming in the hangar.

If you're going to do this, you're going to have to do this now, and you're going to have to make it quick and quiet. 

You feel your heartbeat accelerate as you take a deep breath, plotting the angle you'll slice him at to prevent him from making any noise- either going for the neck or upper torso, depending on how he's standing- and waiting for the perfect moment. Once you decide there's never going to be a perfect moment, you reach down into your boot, feeling the hilt of your saber underneath your fingertips.

"... an entire expedition?! Dammit, Ren." You hear Hux mutter to himself, completely encapsulated in whatever he's working on.

This is it- this has to be the moment. You dig into your boot and grip your saber, the humming from the hangar drowning out your thoughts. You pull the saber out, feeling like yourself again with its heavy hilt against your palm and hold it by your side, hovering your finger over the activation switch.

"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly says from behind you, making you jump.

You whip around to see a pilot, his eyes wide in shock. His eyes dart to your hand, a gasp escaping his lips when he sees the saber.

"Wh- what..." He mumbles, taking a step back. "Why do you have that?!"

"Dammit." You whisper to yourself- then everything begins to move slowly.

The pilot's expression shifts to a state of alarm, the color instantly draining from his face as he springs into action. He jumps into aggression and reaches for his blaster, determined to stop you.

Without hesitation, you ignite your saber as you draw it at him- immediately piercing the flesh just underneath his throat.

A wince escapes his lips as he stares back at you in shock, his gaze blank and instantly devoid of life, the humming from the hangar and the smell of burning flesh filling the air as you twist the saber in his chest.

You hold it there for a moment partially out of shock before deactivating your saber. As you deactivate it, the pilot's body slumps down and you lurch forward to catch him by the shoulders to stop him from hitting the ground loudly, his weight manageable but heavy against your frame.

"Shit, shit, shit..." You curse to yourself, looking around frantically for somewhere to hide him.

Clearly you can't go in Hux's direction- you tighten your grip on his shoulders and put all of your energy into dragging his body in the opposite direction, looking for the next-closest room.

"Hello?" You hear a voice back down the hall, realizing it belongs to Hux. Now, you won't have a chance to take him out if he's on high-alert. "Is someone there?"

"No, no, no, no, no..." You mumble, pulling harder on the body as you drag it away.

When you approach the end of the hall, you see a door around the corner and expend your remaining energy into pulling the body up to the door. To your satisfaction, it's unlocked- and you back yourself into it with the body and drag it into the darkness as the door hisses shut behind you. A sigh of relief rushes from your lungs as your thoughts explore how bad that could've gone.  
As you get your energy back together, the room lights up- a control room with several rows of control panels covered in buttons. This wouldn't suffice as a long-term hiding place to dump the body considering the engineers visit these kinds of rooms so often, so you'd eventually have to find somewhere else to put him, but it'll have to do for now. You grunt as you drag his body across the control room to an engineering desk and shove him underneath, using your feet to push him to the very back of the underside of the desk. It's dark enough for him to be cloaked by the darkness, but someone would find him eventually. You had to-

The door to the control room hisses as it opens again.

"Hello? Is someone in here?" Hux's voice fills the room.

You jolt and tiptoe to hide in the very corner of the room behind the last row of control panels. You hear another voice behind Hux in the hall- robotic like that of a stormtrooper. He's not alone.

"I could have sworn I heard the activation of a lightsaber. But Master Ren's transport has only just arrived, so it's not him... Clear the room."

"Yes, sir." The stormtrooper says.

Your heart drops as you hear their boots shuffling along the floor of the control room, weaving in and out of the rows of panels, getting closer and closer.

You'd have to fight. There's no way you would be able to escape without fighting your way out, given the fact that you were already backed up in a corner. At this rate, they'll spot you long before you'll even have the chance to attack, so your chances of even surviving if they find you are dismal.

You grip your saber tightly in your hand, your heart racing as you take deep breaths between pursed lips.

"Hux." Another familiar voice says from off in the distance.

"Ren." Hux responds, his voice moving out of the control room.

"What are the stormtroopers doing over here?" Kylo's voice echoes angrily. "They should be preparing for the expedition to Kashyyyk."

The stormtroopers' boots move closer to you, perhaps only a row or two away now. You crouch down to duck behind a panel- they would spot you any moment. Your heartbeat rings in your ears as you hold your breath, crouching as far into the corner of the panel as you can possibly fit.

"We cannot venture to Kashyyyk with-"

"Enough." Kylo orders definitively. "You two- go prepare for the expedition. Immediately."

"Yes, sir." A stormtrooper voice says from just next to your row, causing you to jump.

As their boots fade away and eventually exit the room, you feel the hot rush of your adrenaline flushing from your body in relief. You bring your hand instinctively to your chest, feeling your heart pounding so loudly that you could swear the stormtroopers would've heard it if they had gotten any closer, still surprised that Kylo wasn't sensing your presence from outside in the hallway.

"Ren- our compressor cannot stand these spontaneous ventures. We must return to Starkiller to have it replaced before you can decide to take us on another wild chase-" Hux is cut off by Kylo stepping into the control room with him, the feeling in the room shifting as his power enters.

"The Resistance barely escaped D'Qar just as we had arrived. I received intel that they are traveling to Kashyyyk, but they know we're on their tail. We don't have time to return to Starkiller."

"But the compressor-"

"Will last us long enough for several expeditions." Kylo interrupts, clearly irritated. "From what you expressed to me, Command Sergeant Atwell was very clear in explaining the engineers' expectation for the valve's lifespan. Are you doubting the careful work done by a senior member of our order?"

"No, I-" 

"Then it shouldn't be a problem. Gather the troops and prepare- we leave immediately."

Kylo storms off, his heavy steps disappearing with Hux's behind him before the door closes again, leaving you alone- aside from the body- in the control room.

You peer around he corner of your row out across the room-empty.

"What am I going to do with you?" You wonder aloud to the body, pondering where one could even hide a body on the Finalizer.

There's the furnace- but there's no way you were going to be able to get a body all the way across the ship undetected, let alone on such a time crunch, judging that someone from the bridge would likely be paging you on your datapad to return for details on this "expedition" Kylo and Hux were just discussing.

You cautiously step out of the control room to the hallway and walk towards the hangar in search of something to use to move the body. 

The hangar buzzes with activity with everyone rushing to prepare the transports for the expedition. You walk across at attention, pretending to be observing everyone's efforts as you scan the room. As you peer between the ships for something, anything to help you, your eye fixates on what could be the easiest possible solution- the large, bright opening of the hangar exposing the hangar to the open abyss of space. 

That would surely be a good place to drop the body. Accidents happened all the time, and it wasn't rare for someone to... slip and fall. Particularly a clumsy pilot who also happened to have been stabbed by a saber. And besides, you were close enough within D'Qar's orbit for gravity to pull him down to the planet's surface.

Before you can talk yourself out of it, you turn around to exit the hangar, still at a loss for means to transport the body, when your datapad begins to buzz in your pocket. You pull it out to see a red light flashing in the corner with an urgent page to return to the bridge; you'd have to get rid of this body buck quicker than you'd thought.

As you step forward to return to the control room, you are cut off by a crew transporting parts across the floor of the hangar with a labor droid trailing behind- pushing a large, covered cart.

You step in front of the droid once the crew passes, separating the droid from the group that doesn't seem no notice.

"Droid- are you carrying cargo?"

"No, m'am." The droid says mechanically. "My task is to follow-"

"Your task is now to follow me." You order. "Come."

The droid obediently follows you off the hangar floor to the hallway. You order the droid to stop just outside of the room as you enter and approach the desk to reach under to grasp the legs of the pilot. You grunt as you drag him back towards the hallway where the droid waits.

You uncover the cart and struggle to lift the pilot up, but finally are able to slump his body into the cart and reset the cover over the body.

"Follow me." You order, leading the droid back into the hangar. The hangar now has even more people in it than before, all rushing to prepare the floor. You lead the droid across the room, stopping as close as you can get it to the hangar opening; you would have to create some kind of distraction before you could go any further. "Lock the cover. If someone approaches you, you are not to release it. You release them to me only, understand?"

"Yes, m'am." The little droid says, solid in place.

You hustle back to the control room, remembering all of the chronic control room fires that were just such a pain to deal with- and so very common, unfortunately. It'd be such a shame if they had a control room fire right now.

You enter the control room and draw your saber back from your boot to ignite it, its blue light brightening up the room upon ignition. You graze its tip upon the routing panel to heat it up- notorious for always catching on fire- and watch as the metal turns a deep red under your saber's heat, sparking and quickly catching ablaze.

This would draw heavy response from everyone in the hangar, so you had to get out- fast. You run out of the control room and down the hall, slowing to a quick walk when you reach the hangar floor and hustling to reach the hangar opening.

To your satisfaction, the hangar begins to flash red as an incessant buzzing begins to ring through the air; the fire alarm. Everyone jumps to their feet from their work, rushing to locate the source of the fire and eventually finding the smoke from the control room. You get to the droid just in time, ordering it to release the cover and trying to move as quickly as possible.

"It needs to be dumped there." You point up at the bottom of the opening, approximately ten feet above you. 

The droid hums as it lifts the cart upwards, further and further before coming to a buzzing stop just below the opening to your dismay.  
"No, not there. Higher." You order

The cart clicks slightly as the droid attempts to push it higher, evidently unable to move further.

"Shit. Okay, bring it back down."

The fire appears to rage on as the fire crews arrive and immediately rush down the hall to the control room. You don't have much more time.

You jump on top of the cart's cover and order the droid to raise it, the cart vibrating underneath you as it lifts you up to the opening. The cart only stops about three feet short and you jump up to the opening, the cold radiation of the black, unforgiving hole of space behind you sending chills down your spine at its proximity to you.

You lift the cover and grasp the pilot's feet, yanking him upwards towards the platform of the opening, struggling even more than before to lift him upwards against gravity. The fire seems to almost be out according to the electrical smoke turning lighter in color and several crew members beginning to return to the hangar floor.

"Come... on..." You mutter as you pull, now out of time.

Finally, you're able to get the body up on the platform. Now you just need to shove him off. Nobody can see him, but they'll surely spot you standing up here.

You hop back down into the cart, his body at shoulder-level to you. You force your remaining energy into shoving him further and further across the platform- until his body disappears off of the side of the opening, likely being sucked downwards from the remnants of what gravity exudes from D'Qar below you.

"Okay, lower me down." You order, breathing a sigh of relief.

As the cart lowers down, a crew member approaches you. "Command Sergeant, do you need help with something?"

"No, no I do not." You answer sternly, stepping out of the cart and intent on rushing back to the bridge. "Thank you."

As you return to the bridge, you see Lieutenant Myra, Hux, and Kylo discussing the details of the excursion in front of a holograph of the planet.

It's almost as if Kylo sensed your presence- his posture adjusts and he snaps his head around to see you entering before you'd even had the chance to think of him. Memories of him watching you graze Poe's thighs in the interrogation room flash back through your mind, spiking a warm feeling in your lower torso.

You could even guess that he feels it too- his shoulders rise and fall abruptly as he looks away from you. Moments like these made you wish he wasn't wearing a helmet, so you could at least read what little emotion he did convey on his face from time to time.

"There you are!" Lieutenant Myra snaps as you approach them. "Where the hell were you?!"

"Attempting to make entry into the compression room like you ordered." You say bluntly, knowing the trouble it will get her in.

"You ordered a commanding staff member to enter the compression room?!" Hux yells, instantly irate and kicking off, his face immediately tinting a shade of red. "Have you no idea what kind of danger that would put her in, not to mention the kind of danger the entire ship would be if she were to have entered? You didn't enter, did you?!"

"No." You answer. "There was a fire in the hangar on my way over. I overlooked the extinguishing efforts until I received your page."

Hux sneers at Lieutenant Myra. "Your decisions have put us all in danger."

Her dark eyes widen defensively. "I-"

"You are being placed on a supervised probationary period, effective immediately." Hux orders. "Atwell will take your place on the excursion."

"But Atwell-"

"Is much better with a blaster than you." Kylo says. "She will make a fine addition to the mission. You will overlook the operations here until we return. Do we make ourselves clear?"  
Lieutenant Myra forces her expression solemn against Kylo's stern tone. "Yes, sir."

Watching him order her around, the kind of immediate, obvious power he possesses- it sends a shiver across your skin. You quickly correct your thinking, remembering that you'd need to mentally be back on your toes again now that Kylo is back on the Finalizer. Dark thoughts about your shift in thinking after the interrogation room would certainly not benefit you in this setting.

"Get back to work." Kylo says to Lieutenant Myra; she turns on her heels and retreats to the back of the bridge.

"What excursion?" You ask with false oblivion, but only partially remembering Kylo and Hux's conversation from the control room.

"We just missed the Resistance on D'Qar and were able to receive intel that they have retreated to Kashyyyk. The Commander has ordered an excursion into Kashyyyk, and we will be traveling to the planet's system immediately." Hux explains reluctantly, his persistent grimace never leaving his face as he holds a clear distaste for Kylo's orders.

"We?" You ask.

"I have ordered for all of our available stormtroopers to accompany us. General Hux will also be attending the excursion so we have enough commanding presence available." Kylo says as he gazes out the window into space. "You shall accompany Hux for his protection."

"I don't need a woman's protection, I-"

"Yes, you do." Kylo cuts Hux off seemingly without even needing to think about it. "We have no specific known location for their base on the planet or if they're only just retreating here temporarily. We must cover as much ground as possible."

"We don't even know where they are, Ren. Are you sure you desire to risk our resources like this?" Hux asks as a last-effort to stop the expedition.

"I will NOT allow the Resistance to get away again when they're so close within our grasp." Kylo snaps before turning away to exit the bridge, his words definitive and final.

Kashyyyk is like nothing you'd ever seen. You hadn't ever been sent here for a bounty, and you're glad you hadn't, knowing the clear envy you'd feel for its inhabitants if you would ever have to come to this place just to leave immediately after your job was done.

It was like a world of dreams; much like Naboo in that sense. Massive, expansive mountains towered well-above any existing communication towers or structures, making everything near you feel small compared to their scale. Deep blue waters surrounded the mountain ranges, lying gently underneath clouds of fresh, crisp mist that caressed the windows of Kylo's TIE silencer as it pulled into the landing pad on Kachirho beach after a long day of searching the planet within the ship. 

You resisted the instinct to marvel at Kashyyyk's beauty as the three of you stepped out onto the landing pad, focusing on following directly behind Kylo's extended strides while walking down the ramp onto the sandy ground. But even Kylo's massive shoulders seemed small compared to the underside of the mountain protecting the beach, allowing only a cold, biting breeze to whip Kylo's cape upwards towards you. The scent of leather and embers emulate from the thick fabric of his cape as it grazes your chest.

A wookie approaches the three of you to guide you to your quarters for the evening, escorting you across the beach to the First Order station impeded in the cliffside.

The station is smaller than most, consisting of a small command wing where the command quarters lie in a single cabin carved out of the rocky cliffs. You're anxious to go to bed and stretch your limbs, but feel a spike of nervousness when the wookie shows you your quarters, yours being directly next to Kylo's. Nighttime was when you relaxed your mind the most, so all you could hope was that he would be asleep before you so that you wouldn't have to concern yourself with an intrusion into your thoughts.

Once alone, you eagerly put your belongings down on the dresser across the room from your bed and strip before stepping into the stone shower, not minding the noisy faucet releasing practically-freezing water at first. As you let the water rush over you, you take your hair down from your tight bun and begin to massage your scalp, feeling your skin ache from the release.

As your thoughts wander, you allow yourself to think of the mission, wondering where you might be going tomorrow, and finding your thoughts immediately interrupted by the memory of the smell of Kylo's robes brushing up against you earlier. You hadn't seen his face in what felt like ages ago, and its image was fading in your memories. Instead, your mind shifts to visions of his powerful stride, his dark helmet staring through you, and the images of him choking the crew members that fell short of his expectations. 

Your mouth salivated involuntarily at the thought of how his fingers felt around your neck after the interrogation last week.

Out of nowhere, you begin to feel a familiar pulsating on your front lobe. Your gaze shoots up to the shower wall in shock- can he truly reach your mind from a room away?

"... seriously?" You whisper, looking in the area of the wall dividing your quarters.

The pulsating persists- intense, but painless.

You continue to shower, keeping your mind off of him by thinking of your tasks on the Finalizer and studying the rocks of the shower wall as you wash your hair. You reach over to grasp the bar of soap on the rock shelf and bring it into the water before bringing it to your arms, up to your shoulders, and down to your chest.

The pulsing intensifies, and you quickly realize he's reacting to you washing your body.

You feel confusion crossing your face as you freeze before continuing to lather yourself as normal, unable to deny the feeling of arousal that vibrates through your body at the thought of Kylo invading your thoughts just to know what you're thinking while touching yourself. You open your mind up, not fighting his intrusion as you continue to lather your skin, beginning with your neck, moving slowly and trailing the soap down across your collarbone. You move your hand down your collarbone in between your breasts, pausing for only a moment before continuing to move down to your stomach.

To your surprise, you feel a new, clear sense in your mind- an overwhelming sense of manipulation, urging you to reach your hands back up to your breasts.   
A smirk touches your lips as you fight the urge, keeping your hands moving across your stomach and around to your backside, slowly and purposefully as you continue to descend down to your thighs- thinking of the sensation of your skin under your fingers as much as possible. You feel the energy being forcefully radiated to you; the energy is angry, possessive and grasping for control as you draw your fingers over your skin tantalizingly, feeling a warmth spreading throughout you as you remember the image of Kylo in the interrogation room- an image that has been frequenting your memory.

The forceful feeling moves to your neck, tingling along your skin and bringing back flashes of your memory from after your interrogation, when Kylo had slammed you against the wall with his fingers wrapped around your throat

You reach your hand up to where the tingling is, feeling the soft skin of your neck and remembering the smooth leather of his gloved hand overpowering you. You move your other hand down your body towards the top of your thighs, inching slowly between them until you're in the perfect position to pleasure yourself. The vibration of the force around your neck accelerates encouragingly, and you can practically feel yourself connecting with Kylo through it- his hot, feral arousal pulsing through your body.

That's when you stop.

You part your lips to release a chuckle, removing your hands from your body and running them through your hair to rinse it one last time before turning the water off. You step out of the shower, the sound of dripping water filling the silence as you reach for a towel.

The dripping is drowned out by the sound of something being smashed against the wall separating your rooms and shattering, likely as a result of Kylo's frustration in the next room over.

If Kylo Ren wanted your body so badly, then he'd have to come and get it.

You stretch your limbs the next morning and lie in bed for a few extra moments before preparing yourself for a day of searching for the Resistance, not looking forward to changing from your oversized shirt and underwear into your First Order uniform. You eventually force yourself to get out of bed and wander into the bathroom to brush your teeth, hearing a knock at the door before you can do any further.

"Coming." You answer, exiting the bathroom to approach the door.

The hair on your arms stick up in alertness as you reach for the door, your instinct revealing to you exactly who must be on the other side. But why would he be here?

You cautiously grasp the handle of the door and crack it open to peer out.

Kylo stands in front of your door, cocking his helmeted head downwards to look at you with a cloth satchel in hand.

"Uh... good morning, Commander. May I help you?" You ask tentatively, confused.

"Yes, you may." He answers. "Open the door."

"I... I'm not decent."

"Hm." He hums under his mask. "I'm aware. Open." Before you can speak, he pushes the door open, causing you to stumble back in surprise.

As he steps into your room, he closes the door behind him and tilts his head slightly, looking you up and down.

"So... what do you want?" You ask, still confused, pulling down on the edge of your shirt in an attempt to cover your underwear. Your heart begins to race.

He takes a deep breath and takes his time before answering. "Your uniform will not be beneficial to the mission. It stands out in the colors of the forest. I've had something more discreet chosen for you to wear in our time here. Hux will be doing the same."

He outstretches his arm with the satchel and you step forward to take it, your exposed legs shivering slightly under his sight.

"What are you going to wear?" You ask to break the silence.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He says, his voice low.

"I don't know what you're-"

"You don't seem so confident now." He remarks.

Your heart skips a beat as you remember the previous night, and how the sensation of controlling him made you feel.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, sir." You raise a brow stubbornly, knowing very well what he was talking about. "I would consider myself lucky enough to be in possession of a great amount of confidence."

Kylo doesn't speak. Instead, he reaches up to his helmet, the backside of it clicking and hissing as it releases from his head. He pulls it upwards, shaking his hair slightly as he exposes his face.

A soft breath escapes your lips as you exhale. His face is just as you'd remembered- shockingly human for someone that most would consider to be a monster, yet still inhuman in the sense that you found yourself immediately captivated. He takes a deep breath through his nose, his dark eyes practically drilling a hole into your skull through thick lashes as you observe him. You find yourself at a loss of words as his control begins to probe your mind, the pressure of the force intruding on your frontal lobe as it had been on the several occasions when he wanted to get inside your head.

"It's what you wanted, isn't it?" Kylo asks, his unmasked voice as smooth as before. "To remember what my face looked like?"

You shake your head, stubborn as always and beginning to notice a trend in how your conversations have been going. "Still no idea what you're talking about."

His lip twitches slightly, the pressure growing, now becoming painful.

You stare back at him as he tries to intrude on your deepest thoughts, thinking to yourself only how much you'd wished last night that he would have broken into your quarters and had his way with your body. And you didn't care if he knew.

This was also the first time you'd openly admitted your attraction to him to yourself, as well.

"Go change." He orders, seemingly conflicted in his emotions.

"Okay." You respond. "See you outside."

"No. Do it now." He says, his eyes flickering down to your body instantaneously, his eyes consistently cold and devoid of anything human even as he seems to take you in.

"I'm not changing in front of you." You insist, attempting an expression of disgust.

"I'll wait here." He says sternly.

You roll your eyes and turn back to the bathroom, shutting the door behind you.

With one swift motion, you dump the satchel onto the bathroom floor to the outfit Kylo wanted you to wear- a dark, full-length bodysuit much like the one you'd worn on Coruscant, but at least this one has a more modest neckline. You take your shirt off and step into it before putting your bra on and pulling the suit up, buckling it from the front. It's certainly more modest, as it goes all the way up to your neck, but is tight against your curves- much too tight for you to call it "professional".

"Really?" You whisper to yourself.

You slide your boots on and tuck your saber in them, cautious with your thoughts as you struggle to tuck it against the thick fabric of the bodysuit before putting your hair up in braids.

You bite the inside of your lip as you look back into the mirror, irritated and remembering that the Guild would never put you through anything even close to being this demeaning, before exiting the bathroom to see Kylo sitting on the edge of your bed with his elbows on his knees as he waits. He perks up as he catches a glimpse of you.

"Well? Happy?" You ask sarcastically, crossing your arms.

He continues to stare at you, his eyes moving slowly down and up your body before he looks back up at your eyes, his thoughts impossible to anticipate. It's almost as if he's maintaining his bored, inhuman expression on purpose. "It will do."

He stands and turns to exit your room, pausing at the door frame.

"And," He mentions on his way out, "Don't ever roll your eyes at me again. This is your only warning."

There was something about his warning that made your inner thighs clench, and you wondered to yourself just what would happen if you did.


	5. The Excursion

As you cross the cool sands of Kashirho beach, the cold, salty breeze from the ocean whips at your face and bites at your skin. You gaze down the sand to see a large group of Stormtroopers assembled in front of the docking bay being divided into sectors by Hux. Hux appeared to have dressed-down in brown robes, much less-formal than his typical attire, but still wears his same expression of angst that seems to permanently take up residence on his face.

"Sergeant Atwell." He greets you briefly as you stand next to him. "This is our available group of stormtroopers. The rest will be following Commander Ren."

"Understood." You say, trying to keep it simple and following along while adjusting your blaster on your hip.

Hux cocks a brow, stealing a glance at you out of his peripherals. "What in our star system are you wearing?"

"Commander Ren ordered me to change into it. I'm assuming that you and I will need to blend in so that we can't be picked out easily if we're ambushed?" You explain, resisting the urge to blush at mention of your carefully-chosen outfit.

"Very well." He says abruptly, still avoiding your gaze and focusing on staring down the stormtroopers. "We will be covering the third and fourth quadrant of the planet, starting with the third over the next few days and the fourth towards the end of our excursion. Commander Ren will be covering the first and second- I trust you can pilot a TIE fighter?"

"Of course." You say, reminiscing on fond memories of previous missions in which you had to steal TIE fighters to escape after your bounties- or simply just because you had felt like it at the time- you'd commandeered way too many ships in your day to keep track.

"Good. For this mission, you will be temporarily granted the rank of acting Lieutenant in Lieutenant Myra's absence. I don't think I need to express to you how crucial the success of this mission will be for your future promotional opportunities."

"Of course not. I understand completely and look forward to the opportunity, thank you sir." You say, moreso looking forward to the opportunity to cut him to bits with your saber and hoping you won't be around long enough to have to concern yourself with a promotion.

"Are we ready?" A voice says from behind you, sending a fearful shiver down your spine. Kylo stands behind you, clad in his typical robes and helmet, his saber strapped at his side.

And where the hell is your sensible outfit?- You think to yourself while discreetly scanning the curves of his torso with your eyes.

"We are ready to depart, sir." Hux announces.

"Good." Kylo says, his masked stare blank and grave. "We are waiting on another TIE fighter to be delivered from the Finalizer. I will take Sergeant Atwell with me in the silencer for the preliminary planet scans."

Hux turns on his heels, heading for the available TIE fighter docked on the beach and leaving you alone with Kylo. Kylo motions for you to follow him, tilting his head down to examine your outfit before turning to approach the TIE silencer.

You offer a nod as your heartbeat begins to accelerate and follow Kylo up the ramp, practically running to keep up with his strides to board the silencer. You strap yourself into the passenger seat behind the cockpit as you had for your trip down to Kashyyyk, but this time it's different, considering it's just the two of you. You watch out of the viewfinder as Kylo pilots the silencer, not speaking a word to you for the majority of the takeoff.

"You're nervous again." Kylo finally breaks the silence as the silencer begins to move out of the beach towards the open air outside of the mountain.

"I'm alone in the TIE silencer with the Commander of the First Order- that would make anyone nervous." You point out, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

Kylo pilots the silencer out of the bay and over the water, first skirting the northernmost part of the continent before beginning to ascend up to the heights of the mountains. You focus on the viewfinder attached to the passenger area of the ship, magnifying the mountains and searching for any sign of the Resistance.

"Are we going to have to comb through the whole planet?" You ask, not seeing anything aside from the thick, vast trees covering each mountain and the clear blue lakes separating them.

"No." Kylo answers, focused on his piloting. "We've already done peripheral scans of the planet and narrowed it down to four quadrants. We are only doing flyovers of the quadrants now."

"Which quadrant are we over right now?"

"We aren't over any specific quadrant- they're in the other direction." He answers, his helmet turning slightly back towards you as he speaks.

"Then... where are we going?" You ask, your chest beginning to feel uneasy.

"Away from everyone else." Kylo answers as you feel the silencer slowly begin to descend down to an open valley.

You pull back from the viewfinder, slowly turning your head to the direction of Kylo's seat nervously, your mind assuming the worst. He was isolating you, and now you would be at his mercy.

"... why?" You ask, certain he'd figured it all out. Your mind begins to flash through all of the times you'd let your mind wander in front of him, all of the painful ways he would likely execute you in order to take his anger out on you, and even thinking of your family back home- all of these emotions filtering through your mind at lightspeed as your hands shook slightly around the viewfinder.

Kylo doesn't answer. Instead, he continues to descend the silencer down to the valley. The massive mountains gradually come closer and closer within your view, stretching up into the sky like gods looking down upon their disciples. As you approach an open valley, Kylo carefully brings the silencer to a soft hover above the ground, eventually extending its landing equipment and coming to a graceful halt on Kashyyyk's grassy surface. 

You unbuckle yourself in preparation for either fight or flight while you watch Kylo who still sits in silence and stares out of the bright red window at the front of the silencer. The only noise this entire time is his mechanical breathing as it gradually becomes more and more calm. The sound of a light hissing fills the air before you see Kylo's hands reach next to his seat to put his helmet down on the floor of the ship. He keeps his gaze forward and rests his arms on the sides of the pilot's chair, taking a deep breath before finally speaking.

"Come here." He orders, his voice commanding.

A shiver runs down your spine at the way he commands you. You take a deep breath and bring yourself to your feet, maintaining your composure as much as possible as you stand and slowly approach the cockpit. You come to a stop by his side, seeing only his sculpted profile. "Yes?"

Kylo keeps his gaze forward as he speaks. "Part of your protocol is to be able to pilot any ship you travel in so that you may be able to take over in case the pilot is incapacitated, am I correct?"

"Affirmative..." You fabricate, not having the slightest idea what he's talking about.

He keeps his sights forward, looking out the front window. "And you have yet to learn how to pilot the TIE silencer- correct?"

"Correct..."

"Then I'll teach you. Now." He says definitively.

"Oh... okay." You allow the breath you were holding in to escape your sore lungs as you cross your arms behind your back, ready to observe. "What do I need to know first?"

He turns his head slightly towards you, his dark eyes still low in his gaze- his eyes take you in as if he's devouring your body through your clothes.

"Sit on my lap." He orders sternly.

"I- what?" You stutter, caught off-guard.

Kylo lifts his gaze, his eyes dark and compelling. "I said.... Come sit on my lap. Now."

Your lips part slightly and you find yourself holding your breath again, peering through your eyelashes at Kylo as you try to calm the tingling you suddenly feel in your lower abdomen. You wait for Kylo to say something- anything- to break the silence and explain, but instead he sits rigidly in the pilot's chair waiting for you.

"Okay..." You mumble, slowly stepping forward and trying to ignore the feeling of your heart threatening to blast a hole through your chest.

You inch closer to Kylo until you're standing right next to him, looking down at his lap.

"Um... are you sure?" You ask.

Kylo groans quietly as he rolls his eyes and reaches out to grasp your wrist with one smooth movement and pull you in front of him, sending blood rushing to your cheeks instantly.

"Now... sit." He whispers. "On. My lap."

You bite the inside of your lip as you slowly sit down until you feel Kylo's left knee under your rear end, his thigh alone seeming massive compared to your frame. You'd known he was much larger than you, but had never been this close to him in order to draw a comparison.

Kylo inhales deeply at your touch and you feel his breath grazing your arm as he exhales, making you want to shiver.

"Good." He whispers.

You're even more caught off-guard at the sudden sensation of his left hand wrapping around your side and resting on your thigh, his fingers dangerously close to the warmth he was creating in between your legs. In response, you straighten your posture, unwilling to relinquish any control to him. Nobody had ever ordered you around like this before, and as much as you desired the feeling of Kylo's fingers getting closer and closer to the place your body was begging for him to touch, your desire to resist him just to see him shudder again was stronger.

"You're so stubborn." He remarks on your thoughts.

"Yes, I am." You answer smugly, knowing how it frustrates him.

"Why?" He probes.

"Why not?"

"Do you always speak to your superiors the way you speak to me?" He asks, his voice quieter now that you're sitting inches from his face.

"No. Do you always have your subordinates sit on your lap?" You ask back while breaking his stare to glance out the window, fearing yourself unable to control yourself if you look into his eyes and fighting the urge to lean into his touch.

Kylo's lip twitches slightly out of the corner of your eye. "I'd suggest you watch your mouth when speaking to me."

You fight every urge to smile, stifling the muscles in your lips but unable to prohibit a smirk from reaching your lips as you turn to look straight at Kylo.

"Or what?"

Kylo's eyes darken as his tongue runs along the inside of his cheek. His gaze moves to your lips and back to your eyes again, anger radiating from his skin for only a moment before he relaxes entirely- he shrugs slightly.

Before you can say anything else, Kylo suddenly grasps either side of your hips and thrusts you upwards, flipping you around with ease, bringing your torso to his knee and facing you to the ground of the silencer.

"What are you doing?!" You yell, struggling against his grasp as he holds you over his knee with an iron grip.

Kylo seems unfazed by you fighting back against him, easily overpowering you. You try and fail to push away from his thighs and kick against his grip behind you as he angles you over him.

"I told you," He says simply. "To watch your mouth when speaking to me. Now you're going to find out why."

"Are you insane?!" You exclaim, feeling a mixture of emotions as a feeling of arousal begins to grow between your legs.

"You're going to learn to watch your tone around me. I am your superior, and you will speak to me as so. Do you understand?" He asks, his voice definitive and controlled. 

You continue to struggle against his grip, angering him further and invoking an aggravated groan from his lips. Kylo uses one of his hands to quickly grasp your braids, twisting them into a fist and yanking your hair up to arch your back, holding you in-place with the other hand.

"Stop struggling." He orders as you find yourself unable to escape his grip.

A quiet moan escapes your lips as he gently lays his hand back down on your lower back and begins to graze your backside, up and down from the small of your back to the backs of your knees. As his hand trails back up to your back, his fingers spread and he applies pressure while dragging them between your legs, pressing gently as he the growing warmth between your thighs. You reflexively bite your lip as a gasp elicits from you involuntarily, unable to stop yourself from melting under his touch. A voice in your head screams at you to take back control, but all of your senses are overwhelmed under the stimulation of his gloved hand.

"And you bother to ask why I chose this outfit." He whispers as his gloved hand continues to trail up and down your body. "I think that the tightness of this fabric grips against leather so well, don't you?"

"I... I don't-"

Without warning, Kylo grunts and brings his hand down upon your rear end- hard and mercilessly with an audible smack, sending shockwaves through your body and inducing a yelp from your lips.

"This is what happens when you don't watch your mouth." Kylo says, his breathing accelerating as he brings his hand down upon your rear again in the same spot, his large gloved hand electrifying against your skin as it jolts you forward under his strength. 

This time, a moan escapes your lips.

"Hm," He hums as he rubs the spot he had been smacking, soothing your sore skin as you begin to pant. "Good girl."

You curse under your breath as he continues to rub you, feeling torn between the instinctual dread of what his hand would feel like coming down on your backside again and the desire to push the boundaries and see just how upset you could get him.

"You like it, don't you?" He asks, his breath hinging as his hand disappears from your rear. "Answer me."

You refuse to speak, shaking your head and biting down on your lip, invoking another hard smack on your rear end accompanied by a feral growl from his lips.

"If you don't like it.... tell me to stop." He whispers, his fingers gentle on your backside as he rubs your backside over your pants, trailing his middle finger in between your legs again, allowing it to linger as he pulsates it down.

It doesn't take you more than a moment to realize how much you have grown to crave this- his touch- to any extent, gentle or otherwise. Preferably otherwise.

"Answer me, slut." He demands, tightening his grip on your hair with his other hand.

You gasp as his hand crashes upon the throbbing skin of your rear end again, sending a hot tingling in between your legs.

"Yes Kylo, I-... don't stop...."

"Excuse me?" He exclaims, his voice angry. "Do NOT." Smack. "Address me." A harder smack. "Informally." Smack. ".... ever again."

The impacts of his hand against your rear end force squeals out of your lungs as he pulls your hair back, using his other hand to wrap around your throat and angle your face up at him.

"I am your Commander. Call me anything else again and I will punish you immediately, do you understand?!"

"Yes... yes..." You whisper through strenuous breaths.

"Yes, what?" He tightens his grip on your throat, causing you to struggle in between gasps.

"Yes, Commander." You choke out, completely numb in pain and bliss.

"That's better." He says, his tone now calm and controlled.

Kylo slowly releases his grip on your hair, allowing your braids to fall to your sides. He releases your throat next, causing you to collapse on his knee, finding yourself never so happy to have ever seen the thick fabric of his pants in front of your face in your life.

You gasp for relief, your lungs dancing in your chest as you catch your breath, grasping Kylo's muscular thigh as you regain your strength.

"Do you understand why you were punished?" He asks after you'd recovered the majority of your energy.

You lift your head slightly only to find it met by his hand guiding you back down onto his knee.

"You may get up when I tell you to do so." He instructs, his voice smooth and seductive, even through everything you had just experienced. "Now, I'll ask again... do you understand why you were punished?"

While you gather the strength to speak, your first intention to say yes, the little voice in the back of your head bites at your senses and dares you to tell him no; just to see what he would do next.

"I wouldn't." He warns. "I don't think you're ready for that."

Before you can buy yourself more annihilation, a beeping noise begins to ring throughout the cockpit- an incoming holograph.

"Hux is trying to reach us." Kylo says while looking down at you. "Don't fucking move."

You'd seen holographic messages of Kylo in the TIE silencer before, and you were just below the area where the holograph would capture Kylo's image for the message. 

The beeping stops abruptly, and you begin to hear Hux's voice.

"Ren." He says. "I did not locate any new points of interest in my flyover."

As Hux talks, Kylo continues to rub your backside, his hand still tantalizing even over your pants.

"Neither of us did either." Kylo says to Hux normally as if he didn't have you sprawled over his lap with his hand rubbing your backside.

"The Finalizer has also communicated to me that the second TIE fighter for Lieutenant Atwell should be ready in the docking bay before we return." Hux says through the holograph, looking back at Kylo.

As Kylo listens, he pauses in between your legs again, applying more pressure than before with his middle finger. He draws a circle for a few moments before he locates the portion of your pants over your clit- freezing only for a moment before he begins to rub it with long, slow strokes over your pants.

You inhale sharply, forcing Kylo to have to use his other arm to keep your head shoved down into his lap. Your body trembles at the combination of the delicious vibration of his finger- even over your pants- and knowing Hux was watching, and that if you even moved an inch or made a peep, you could get caught.

What surprises you most as you grip the fabric of his pants to control yourself is the massive, hard bulge you quickly realize rests underneath you between his legs as Kylo continues to touch you.

"We just finished our preliminary scan." Kylo says, his finger never stopping and his focus never breaking from the holograph. "We'll return immediately."

The holograph beeps as it shuts down, finally allowing you to release a loud moan under his touch.

"Now, where were we?" He asks, slowing his strokes over the crotch of your now-wet pants. "Oh, yes. Your lesson. Do you understand why I had to punish you?"

You take a deep breath, feeling out-of-body in his lap. "Yes, Commander."

"And why did I punish you?" Kylo asks, using his free hand to tilt your chin to the side so you could see him.

You look up, only able to see him partially from being face-down in his lap. "I... I didn't watch my mouth."

"Yes..." He whispers as he moves a lock of hair away from your face. "Are you going to do it again?"

Probably. "No, sir."

"Good girl." He says, removing both of his hands from your body. "Now get up."

"Wait... you're not going to..."

"No." Kylo answers, sitting back in the pilot chair. "If you want to come on my hand, you'll have to earn it."

You scoff in disbelief, moving your gaze to the ground. After contemplating your frustration for a moment and feeling the sensation in between your legs begin to fade away, you push yourself up to your knees and eventually up to a standing position- your entire backside aching from your punishment.

"Good." He responds to your thoughts as he readjusts his dark robes. "It'll be a good reminder of how to behave."

You shake your head, glaring at Kylo at a loss of words. You couldn't tell if you'd hated him or wanted to ask him for more.

He cocks a brow. "Remember this the next time you think to yourself that if I want your body I'll have to.... How did you phrase it?"

You feel blood rushing to your cheeks at the memory of Kylo invading on your shower yesterday, instantly remembering what he's referring to.

"Ah, yes... I'll have to 'come and get it'." He mocks.

You shake your head and straighten yourself up to the best of your ability, turning to step behind the cockpit to the passenger area.

Kylo moves on as if nothing had happened, lifting the silencer off the ground and ascending back up into the skies of Kashyyyk to return to the beach. You sit in silence for the entire ride by yourself behind the cockpit, your mind a blur of confusion as you stare across the empty cabin trying to process what just happened and arriving back on the beach much too quickly to navigate even half of your thoughts.

You exit the silencer to see Hux standing next to his TIE fighter directing stormtroopers into transports.

"Ah, there you two are." Hux says as he spots you and Kylo exiting the ramp, one of you clearly more confused than the other, but for reasons Hux would never know. 

Hux begins to explain the terrain of your quadrants to you, but your mind fails to process anything he's saying, replaying the image of Kylo ordering you to sit on his lap and the feeling of his hand slamming down on your rear end on repeat. You zone out while listening to Hux, thinking back to the sensation of Kylo's hand over the fabric of your pants over and over, wondering what it would feel like on your bare skin.

"Understood?" Hux asks at the end of his explanation.

"Yes, sir." You answer, not having listened to anything he said.

"Good. Let's go." He says before returning back to his TIE fighter.

You had looked fondly upon your memories of piloting TIE fighters in the past, finding them to be lightweight and especially maneuverable, cornering well but quite touchy on the acceleration. Yours in particular seemed to be a newer model, likely one strictly set aside for command usage, and easily power it on while strapping yourself in. Your focus was usually unwavering when at work- completely situated on the task at hand and hardly ever distracted by anything, but you would be lying if you said your thoughts were completely collected as you prepare to take off. You glance over at the silencer curiously and watch Kylo make his way back up the ramp alone, pausing for only a moment before entering.

He stops to turn around, looking in your direction before proceeding back onto the silencer and closing the ramp behind him.

You try to shake your head free of the thoughts of him, the flashbacks from the cockpit, and your curiosity for why he seemed to get off on it so much. You certainly did- remembering the electric shock sent between your legs with each impact of his hand on your skin- and you had indulged in hookups on or between jobs in the past, but you'd never experienced anything like this before. You were always the exciting, adventurous one. You were the one who found it easy to toy with men's minds and drive them wild, like you had done to Poe; but this territory was uncharted to you. You'd never been ordered to get on a man's lap and forced to lay across his knee just to be spanked into oblivion like that before, and you never thought you would have enjoyed the pain as much as you did- needed the pain as much as you did.

And Kylo wanted to give it to you.

You try to clear your mind once the silencer has pulled out of the bay before you lift the TIE fighter off the ground and look to Hux for direction. He motions through his window for you to follow him and begins to pull out of the underside of the mountains in the opposite direction, the heavy winds whipping at the sandy shore. You wrap your hands around the controls and gently angle them forward to follow, gliding through the air smoothly as the mountain opens up and allowing you to ascend as you follow with the transports of stormtroopers behind you.  
"The main quadrant we need to focus on is quadrant three." Hux says over the radio after a few minutes. "We had detected the most activity in that area, particularly by the upcoming lake.  
The towering mountains open to expose a large lake of water surrounded by waterfalls, covered in the shadows casted by the surrounding hillsides. Several large trees next to the water careen over the lake's edge, their vines draping down and swaying along the water's surface gently from the breeze emitted the gushing waterfalls.  
You and Hux descend your TIE fighters deep into the valley, low enough to practically skim the water as you begin to scan the valley for activity.  
"Anything?" Hux transmits.

"Nothing underwater." You respond as you scan below you, the only signs of life being the fish and waterlife below.

"Let's land and continue on foot on the North side of the lake." Hux decides. "The vegetation is much too lush to penetrate with a scanner."

"You sure?" You clarify. "They call this place a death trap for a reason."

"Yes, I'm sure." Hux spits over the radio, his tone almost offended. "We have stormtroopers- I'm not the least bit concerned with 'wildlife'."

You shrug to yourself. "Okay." If Hux gets himself killed here in his ignorance, then you at least could take credit and get your payment without having to do anything.

The ships all land in a clearing by the edge of the lake and the stormtroopers begin to deploy on foot, getting in formation in front of their transport. You step out and arm yourself with your blaster, your saber tapping against your leg as you walk across the mushy ground to stand by Hux to face the troops.  
Hux separates the group into sections and leads your group into the forest after sending the other groups ahead, with him and yourself following at the back of your group as you all step into the dark coverage of the thick trees.

The forest is dark, its air heavy and humid as you search the area for any activity. Small beams of light source any vision between the thick tree trunks that base the intimidating, thick trees that cast their power over the forest floor. Every now and then you pass clusters of treehouses, and the stormtroopers shoot their ziplines up into the trees to invade the treehouses to ensure the wookies aren't housing Resistance members.

The majority of the lake has no sign of the Resistance, and you gradually round the southernmost part of the lake by the waterfalls further on into the afternoon as the sun begins to set. The group approaches a large platform that runs along the biggest waterfall you had ever seen. It gushes from the mountainside, the picturesque sunset that paints the sky lighting its falling waters from behind. 

"Let's spread out." Hux orders aloud to the stormtroopers. "We must finish clearing the lake before we return to the station- go!"

The stormtroopers begin to scramble in each direction in pairs, leaving you and Hux alone on the platform. 

Throughout the chaos that has been your life over the last few weeks, you had struggled with the basic concept of forming a focused thought and having a clear mind. But here and now, in the pit of nature, you're finally able to refocus and realize what perfect position you're in.

You're in the perfect position to strike Hux down, and a TIE fighter sits conveniently across the lake for you to use to get away.

You had used the saber to take someone out and make it look like a blaster before, and it would be quiet enough to give you a head start running back to your TIE fighter. Or, perhaps you could even just blast the man and call for help as if someone from the Resistance had ambushed you, so you could distract the stormtroopers with Hux's health while you made a run for it.

You decide on the first option, opting for a quick, quiet execution.

"There are a few particular treehouses of interest on the edge of the forest just up ahead. Follow me." Hux instructs, heading in the same direction as a few stormtroopers had headed off earlier.  
You allow Hux to get a few paces ahead of you in order to avoid suspicion, and feel your heartbeat begin to accelerate like it had on the Finalizer when you were this close to killing him before. You had been so caught-up in the events that had transpired over the last few days that you had almost forgotten to be ready for new opportunities to complete your true job- the bounty over Hux's head. And you'd never thought this would be the place to do it, yet here you were, in the perfect position to finish him off so you could finally return to your family.  
You steady your breathing as you follow Hux across the expansive platform, both wanting to keep as quiet as possible and to squeal with excitement at the thought of seeing their faces again, your heartstrings reminding you where your heart still lied- confined in the underground bungalow belonging to Lairae on Tatooine.

Though it had taken weeks to get to this point, it felt right. You could practically feel your saber buzzing against your shin within your boot as you scanned the area to confirm no stormtroopers were within your sight. Once the area was clear, it was time.

You take a deep breath and focus your gaze on Hux as he faces away from you, now nearing the edge of the platform leading into the forest. He suspects nothing- reasonably so considering you're supposed to be the one protecting him. You reach down into your boot, feeling the warm hilt of your saber against your leg and gripping it tight to pull it up into your hand. 

Your thoughts race in the moments leading up to your attack as you walk closer and closer, with Hux still too far to hear your panting, but close enough for you to practically be able to taste his impending demise. You planned to ignite your saber before approaching him to avoid him hearing the ignition, and plunge it horizontally through his upper back- quickly and quietly to look like a blaster hole. You feel whole again- the metal hilt lying in your palm and your finger hovering over the gold ignition switch as you take one last breath before bringing it up to your side and preparing to ignite it. 

You outstretch the saber and carefully press down on the ignition button, the sound of the waterfall behind you drowning out the sound of it lighting ablaze as you stalk behind Hux, ready to strike as adrenaline begins to pulse through your veins.

But then you stop.

Not because of hesitation, or because of fear, but because an overwhelming pressure constricts every muscle in your body, stopping you mid-step and holding you with an absolute constriction like you'd never felt before. You're completely and utterly powerless against its grip, frozen in horror as you hear a pair of heavy footsteps behind you.

"I knew it." A mechanical voice says.


	6. Equivocation

You feel your fingers shivering against the warm hilt of your saber, your muscles frozen in place as you stand paralyzed on the cliff platform. The pair of heavy footsteps get closer to you, reaffirming who you already know the mechanical voice belongs to. Your body craves convulsion underneath the invisible hold that grips each muscle in your body, holding you in place like the cold ices of Hoth.

"Where did you get that saber?" Kylo's voice echoes from your side as he steps in your viewpoint, the shoulders of his helmet and robes glistening with droplets from passing by the waterfall.

"I... " You groan against the pressure. "Can't..."

Kylo releases some of the pressure from your head, allowing you to move your face slightly.

"Where did you get it." He demands, holding his hand up to intensify the hold on the rest of your body.

You pant through his iron grip, your muscles already aching from being in overdrive. "Fuck.... You."

"I'm sure you'd like that." He cocks his head slightly, his hand turning as he begins to make his grip more painful. "That saber- it belongs to me."

"Well..." You pant, maintaining your grip on the saber. "As I always say... you're going to have to .... come get it...."

"If you say so." Kylo says simply.

Suddenly, he drops his grip and the hold over you. In one swift motion, he ignites his saber and raises it to strike down on you. You push through the soreness of your muscles and bring your saber up to block his, the sabers clashing in front of your face with a blinding light as you push him away.

Your heart begins to race as you turn and run back towards the waterfall to give yourself more space from the cliffside, bringing your saber around you to brace yourself with Kylo behind you, his steps powerful and intent as he chases you down.

Kylo speeds up to a brisk walk and swings his saber around his head to slash down upon your shoulder and you jump to block him, your sabers clashing loudly among the noise of the roaring waterfall behind you. You lunge forward in an attempt to drive your saber through his torso, but he swings his saber in front of him to block you and attempts to come down upon you with another attack.

This time, you catch his attack in front of you, your two sabers roaring against each other as he presses down upon you. You fight to hold your saber up in front of you, gradually feeling your energy fleeting as Kylo slowly uses his brute strength to push down on you, his dark gaze through his helmet never leaving your eyes.

You grunt as you push back, determined to get away alive and not willing to give up. Kylo feeds off of your energy, and you can see the mental switch he experiences as he plans his next move.

He swiftly brings his hand up, and a sudden gust of energy- hard like a brick wall- slams into you with a hard impact and sends you flying through the air. You go straight through the waterfall itself, the atmosphere turning to darkness as your soaked body slams onto the rocky floor sending stars through your vision on impact.

You wince through the slamming, your body tumbling slightly across the rocks before coming to a stop, leaving you face-down on the rocky floor of a dark, wet cave that lies behind the waterfall. A groan escapes your lips as you plant your shaky hands- one empty and the other faithfully gripping your saber, on either side of you to push yourself up. Your head pounds as you slowly bring your feet underneath you, struggling but persisting to stand. Your saber is the only light in the cave aside from the dim glowing from the other side of the waterfall leftover by the fading sunset- its light begins to surround a tall silhouette as it approaches the waterfall. 

Kylo walks straight through the water with his helmet now in-hand, reigniting his saber as the water runs down his robes and hair. You reignite yours as he drops his helmet and walks straight towards you, the dark cave now alight with the glowing of red and blue as you brace yourself to fight.

"So you just decided you'd kill Hux and take off?" He asks as he gets closer.

"Pretty much." You answer, gripping the hilt of your saber tightly.

"Using a contraband saber that doesn't even belong to you." He remarks, coming to a halt a few feet away.

"I mean, it's in my hand, so..." You shrug slightly.

He raises his bright red saber and points it at you, his furious gaze intense as the red sparks flicker off of its sides. "Who sent you?"

"Nobody."

"I'll ask one more time- who sent you?"

"If you kill me, I guess you'll never know." You raise a brow, standing in silence for a moment. The flashing of his saber reflects off of his eyes, making your stomach jump slightly.

"I'm about to execute you and you still crave me... pathetic." He says, his gaze turning to a scowl.

You cock your head, looking him up and down before speaking.

"I can see it in your eyes..." You say as you stare back through the flashing light. "You're about to execute me and you still crave me."

He shakes his head slightly in anger. 

A smirk creeps up to your lips. "Pathetic." You whisper.

With a grunt, Kylo rages forward and slashes his saber down towards you, causing you to duck in the other direction. You rebound back and swipe your saber upwards.

Kylo abruptly lets out a groan and abruptly takes a step back, bringing his hand to his face. He curses under his breath and removes his hand from his face, revealing a bloody gash spanning from above his brow down into his tunic. He looks back up at you, a combination of emotions crossing his face.

You take a deep breath and charge at him, determined to finish him off and drive your saber to his heart.

He quickly brings your efforts to a halt by blocking you with the swinging motion of his saber, clashing against your saber so hard that it's knocked from your hand; the force is suddenly at your throat, wrapping around your neck and lifting you up into the air.

You gasp for air as Kylo drags you forward and into his hand, holding you by your neck mid-air. His expression is devoid of emotion as he looks up at you as you grab for his hand and gasp for breath.

"Who. Sent you." He says again.

"Kill... me." You say through clenched teeth, struggling to breathe.

"I'm not merciful enough to end your life that quickly." He says, looking down at your lips. "And you're right- if I kill you, I'll never get the answers I want."

As you grasp at his hands, Kylo finally sets you down so you can breathe but still has his fingers wrapped around your throat. Your lungs tingle with relief as you finally take in a deep breath once your feet have hit the ground. With his other arm, Kylo extends outwards and uses the force to bring your saber flying through the air and into his palm.

Kylo brings your saber in front of him, an expression of bewilderment crossing his face as he examines the hilt. You focus on keeping your mind blank and reminding yourself that you won't tell him anything. He then scans you with his eyes, looking you up and down before returning to your sights.

"You know I can take whatever I want." He whispers.

As much as you didn't want it to, you find a chill rushing down your spine at his words and the way his lips move as he breathes them out.

Then, everything immediately fades to blackness.

Your memories come and go in flashes in your wade of unconsciousness. You remember the cave and the towering waterfall that barred it from the outside world, and you remember the icy water rushing over your body as you exited, but couldn't remember how you'd gotten out. You're alone with your thoughts in the black abyss of nothing as you remember feeling a strong pair of arms lifting you up effortlessly and carrying you like you like you weighed nothing. You remembered feeling a coarse fabric grazing your cheek and the enticing, musky smell of Kylo's robes enveloping you as your cheek rested against his warm chest while being carried through the dark forest of Kashyyyk.

You'd gotten flashes of memories of being in his lap and movement around you as if you were on some kind of ship, and memories of people talking over you as you were being laid down on a cold surface and moved around an unfamiliar area. These flashes were all that offered you clarity in your haze, and you could swear that you had been out for several days before any of your senses return. 

It starts with the sensation of the skin on the back of your neck resting on a hard, metal surface. The metal is warm underneath your skin, but uncomfortable as the sensation of your body sinking into the hard surface of the metal spreads through your body. You inhale sharply through your nose, suddenly aware of your consciousness and regaining feeling as if waking up from a deep sleep. Your first instinct is to bring your hands up to rub your eyes, but when you try to move, you find your arms constricted down to the metal surface below you. You open your eyes slowly, looking up at a red ceiling hanging over the dimly-lit room you lie in and realizing you don't know where you are- you lift your head slightly to look around you.  
You're in a room similar to the interrogation room on the Finalizer, but this one is much larger and darker, both in image and in feeling. A large panel of tools much like the ones you'd chosen to use to torture Poe stand on the opposite side of the room, bordered by a mirror-like window that you would assume to be one-way glass. The last time you were in a room like this, you were in complete control. But now- it seems you were the prisoner.

You curse under your breath as you lay your head down, remembering what led up to this moment and realizing what kind of position you're now in.  
"You're awake." A mechanic voice says from behind you, making you jump slightly.

Kylo's footsteps echo behind you, too far up out of your range to see. He walks around to your side, entering your vision as he looks down at you through his helmet.

"What... what am I doing here?" You ask, still waking up from your haze.

He keeps his gaze down on you, not moving. "You're my guest."

You roll your eyes, trying to move your arms under you but failing to be able to get yourself anywhere.

"I told you not to roll your eyes at me." He says, walking down towards the end of the surface by your feet. "But I'm afraid I don't have the time to correct your behavior today."

"What are you going to do, interrogate me like I'm some criminal?" You ask as if you've got nothing to lose.

"You are a criminal." He insists. "You were seconds away from assassinating a General of the First Order- why?"

"Because I felt like it." You answer, staring back up at the ceiling.

"Who sent you?"

"Nobody."

"I find that to be a deceptive answer." He says. "I looked into your data- it appears to have been foraged. But you knew that."

"Nope, no idea what you're talking about." You answer, keeping your mind off of the truth to avoid him invading your thoughts.

"We have no record of your life before your departure from Ta-Noun. Your identity data is completely blank, which leaves me in the position where I have to extract such information- forcefully or otherwise."

"Good luck with that." You remark.

"I don't need luck. You'll give me what I want." He says.

You feel a smirk touch your lips, and don't speak.

Kylo's footsteps echo as they get closer to you before he comes into your vision again. He stops when he's next to you and cocks his head down, examining you before lifting his hand up to your cheek. 

He runs a gloved finger across the skin of your cheek.

"Such a naughty girl. What am I going to do with you?"

Your body continues to betray you, feeling a twinge in-between your legs as he speaks. Kylo clearly reads your energy and turns his head to look down between your legs before shaking his head.

"I'm sure you already know this, but the Resistance was already gone from Kashyyyk when we arrived. We missed them by just a few hours- how do you think that happened?"

"I don't know." You answer honestly. "Maybe because we were too slow?"

"We weren't. The Resistance knew of our whereabouts. Someone must have tipped them off." 

"Okay." You say, shrugging your shoulders slightly. "Bummer, I guess."

Kylo releases a breath in frustration and raises his hand, suddenly causing an increasing pressure in your head.

"Where is the Resistance?" He asks, the humming pressure steady.

"I told you, I don't know." You insist. "I don't work for the Resistance."

"Then who do you work for?" He asks.

Flashes of Tatooine briefly cross your mind through Kylo's extraction in visions of sand dunes and the hot sun, causing you to have to strain not to give information away.

He increases the pressure. "Where is this place?"

You focus on keeping your mind blank through deep breaths, struggling to fight his influence.

"Who do you work for?" Kylo asks again, his gaze intent on your face as he tries to force more information out of you.

"I-..." You groan against the pressure as it increases, causing more pressure on your frontal lobe.

"Tell me!" He orders, the pressure now heavy and painful, like nothing you'd ever felt before.

You focus on the feeling of the pain, avoiding all thought of your mission.

Kylo suddenly releases the pressure, yanking his arm downwards in frustration. You gasp as his hold is released, causing the pressure to slowly fizzle away.

He disappears behind the surface you lie on and you feel it slowly start to rise to a vertical position. As it rises, Kylo comes back to stand in front of you while you come to a near-standing angle. He reaches up and grasps either side of his helmet and clicks in the sides, causing the front panel to release and hiss as he pulls it off of his head and tosses it on the ground next to him, the sound of its clattering ringing through the room and startling you.

You stare into his brown, emotionless eyes as he examines the angles of your face. Kylo's face was as breathtaking as it had been since the first time you'd seen it, but this time he looked different; a long, mechanical-looking patch held together the slightly-bruised skin on his face where you had sliced his skin with your saber earlier.

"I got you good, didn't I?" You ask, marveling at the patchwork on his cheek.

Part of you wonders whose eyes he's looked into- who he's taken his mask off in front of aside from you- and wonders who he used to be before he was Kylo Ren.

"I've got nothing to tell you." You finally say, finding your voice softer when you see his face versus the cold exterior of his helmet.

Kylo raises a brow slightly, his expression changing to something darker. "What do you want?"

As he speaks, his voice deep and sultry, you feel a tingle in between your legs.

His gaze shifts downwards, looking between your thighs. "Of course you do."

"I didn't say anything." You say.

"You don't have to. I'm sure I'd be able to sense your arousal from across the base."

"Base?" You ask, ignoring his comment. "Where are we?"

"We're on Starkiller." He says while stepping closer and reaching up to unbuckle the clasp on his outer robe, dropping it to the dark floor underneath him. "Nobody knows you're here. Not even any other command staff- just me."

Your eyes flicker to the one-way glass behind him.

"The observation room is empty." He says, now directly in front of you. His scent and heat of his breath graze your exposed collarbone as he looks directly into your eyes, sending a chill down your spine. "Do you know what that means?"

You gulp. "What."

"It means... I can do whatever I want to you- to your body- and nobody will ever know."

You immediately feel your heart drop to your stomach and the tingling between your legs increasing, causing you to flinch as you attempt to clench your thighs. The bands around your legs stop you.

A small chuckle emanates from his lips as he admires the restraints holding you down, his eyes the window of dark thoughts.

"You want that, don't you?" Kylo asks.

You move your gaze to the wall behind him, remaining unresponsive to his taunting.

Kylo steps forward and grasps your jaw with a gloved hand, forcing you to look at him.

"Answer me."

You run your tongue on the inside of your cheek stubbornly.

"Very well." Kylo says, his eyes practically piercing into your soul with evident desire.

Kylo raises his hand behind you and presses something on the surface that releases your legs from the restraints. You waste no time in bringing your legs up to kick him away as hard as you can, but he effortlessly catches you by your shins, gripping your legs tightly and stopping you from moving.

"Fuck you!" You scream as you writhe within his grip.

He remains unfazed as he moves closer to you, his grip moving up to your thighs. With a grunt, he shoves your legs apart and spreads them, inserting his torso between them. An invisible pressure holds your legs up on either side of him as you feel the fabric of his tunic pressing between them. The feeling of him pressed up against the sensitivity between your legs makes your heartbeat accelerate.

Your breath hitches as he leans in close to you, inches from your face. "Who sent you?"

"...Nobody." You say through shaky breaths.

His plump lips part slightly, his brown eyes framed by his dark locks that move slightly as he shakes his head. "I can feel your body- your needs- and I can resolve them for you... but you need to cooperate."

A pang of betrayal washes through your thoughts at the idea of your body giving you away, the desire for Kylo to act on his word and devour your senses stronger even now than when you were on the TIE silencer feeling his fingers drag in between your thighs.

"So that's what you want." Kylo echoes your thoughts.

You shake your head. "I want nothing from you."

"Do you?" He asks, never breaking his stare.

You don't answer.

"Ah... you do." He whispers.

Kylo takes a step back to study your physique- his eyes starting at your collarbone and moving downwards slowly to your abdomen, and eventually in between your spread legs where his gaze lingers.

"We're going to have to do something about that, aren't we?" He asks before looking back up at your eyes.

Kylo takes a step forward and places his hands on the tops of your thighs and begins to slowly rub his hands between your hips and knees.

"Do you have any idea..." he mumbles, "... how mad you drove me when you assisted me in interrogating Mr. Dameron?"

"No idea what you're talking about." You say spitefully, trying to keep your breathing even. "I was just doing my job, Commander."

"Hm," He hums, "You straddled these very thighs over his hips, allowed this pussy to be within inches of exactly where he wanted it, and nearly pushed him over the edge by doing practically nothing."

"And that matters to you, why?"

"I had to stand there... feeling everything he felt- every single erotic emotion- and do nothing. Absolutely nothing but feed off of your dirty thoughts and the overwhelming feeling of him near-climaxing. And you had the audacity to look right at me."

"Yes, I did." You say smugly. "And what are you going to do about it?"

A smirk touches Kylo's lips as he stops rubbing your legs, his gloved fingers twitching slightly.

"Exactly what you did." He whispers.

Without warning, Kylo brings his hands to the neckline of your bodysuit from Kashyyyk and grasps the edges, ripping it open viciously and inciting a gasp from deep within your lungs. Kylo tears the outfit all the way down to your stomach, continuing to rip until he reaches your crotch and giving one final tear, exposing your underwear completely.

Your back arches slightly at the exposure, causing your gaze to momentarily move upward to the ceiling.

"You're wet." He whispers as he looks down at your underwear, the last thing protecting your modesty before you would be completely exposed to him.

His breathing increases as he slowly brings his hand in between your legs and grazes the surface of your underwear. He focuses one finger on rubbing up and down slowly, easily finding your clit.

"So ready for me." He comments.

You stifle a moan, biting the inside of your lip as his fingers send waves of pleasure further inside you. Kylo rubs over your underwear for a few more moments before taking a deep breath and gently pinching the edge of your underwear and carefully pulling it aside, finally exposing you to the cold air.

Kylo inhales deeply as his eyes focus between your legs, clenching his jaw. A low groan emanates from within his closed mouth as he examines you before bringing his hand back in between your legs. Your own pounding heartbeat rings through your ears as you watch his hand get closer to your skin.

Kylo gently touches his gloved thumb against your clit and begins to drag it up and down, sending a delicious shiver throughout your body.

"You're going to tell me who you're working for." He says as he gently rubs your clit. "And perhaps I'll reward you for your information."

You purse your lips together and shake your head no.

"Oh, but you were so willing to do this to Mr. Dameron and expect answers." He comments as his thumb rubs your clit in just the right spots- making you desire more than just having his touch at the surface- you desperately wanted him inside of you.

"At least I was good at it." You manage to comment through the sensation. "And Poe was weak- I didn't even have to get his pants off to send him over the edge. Whereas you're not even going to get anything out of me with what you're doing now."

He seems to avoid a chuckle as he brings his sights back down to watch himself tantalizing your skin. "I know."

Then, before you can respond, Kylo sinks his middle finger in between your folds and presses it deep inside of you. You are unable to stop an audible gasp as you feel your walls immediately clenching against his long finger as it begins to swirl around.

"You like that, don't you?" Kylo asks as he slowly pulls his finger out before pressing it inside again. "Look how easily your pussy accepts my fingers- so willing to take me inside of you."

You clench your eyes closed as he pulls his finger in and out, the sensation of the leather of his gloves moving inside of you vibrating through your body. You curse through clenched teeth, trying to withstand the building you already begin to feel from your lower torso.

"Who sent you?" Kylo asks.

"Mm-... nobody..." You moan through his fingering, resisting the desire to grind against his hand.

Kylo pulls his fingers out and rubs your wetness against your clit again, swirling around and licking his lips.

"I'll ask again- who sent you?"

"Nobody fucking sent me." You insist.

"Fine. Have it your way." Kylo says, this time sinking two fingers deep inside you. He slowly moves them back and forth, never leaving your warmth as you feel yourself clamping down on him. 

A whimper threatens to escape your mouth as you close your eyes, trying to withdraw as many senses as possible to stop an orgasm from building.

"And so tight, too..." He whispers, his voice being the only sense leftover aside from the sensation of his fingers rubbing against your walls. "Give me what I want."

"I'm not..." You struggle with words, unable to form a coherent sentence as you open your eyes back up. "... I don't... have anything to tell you..." 

"Oh?" He asks.

Kylo curls his fingers inside of you, perfectly hitting your most sensitive spot and forcing a moan to rush from your lips. He continues to mercilessly rub inside of you, his gloved fingers never stopping their delicious movement as they continue to hit the very back of you, and you begin to feel an orgasm starting to build.

"That's right." He says. "I know you feel it. It's going to be so easy to do it- tell me who's going to make you come."

"F- fuck..." You curse under your breath.

Kylo begins to speed up, his movements becoming more aggressive as the wet sound of his fingers urgently sliding in and out of you begins to fill the room. 

"Tell me who's going to make you come." He orders as he continues to pick up speed.

You continue to moan as the sensation keeps building, and he adds his thumb in to rub your clit.

"Y-.... you are, Kylo!" You can't stop yourself from yelling his name against the building pleasure beginning to vibrate through your body.

"Excuse me?" He yells, his fingers now slamming in and out of you, threatening to send you into an explosion of pleasure. "Who am I?!"

You curse, your arms twitching under the restraints of the interrogation surface and your spread legs pushing back against the force holding them up.

"Commander!" You yell. "You are, Commander!"

"What am I going to make you do?!"

"You're going...." You moan deeply as his fingers violently ravage you. "You're going to make me come, Commander!"

"Yes, I am." He whispers as he steps closer.

Kylo takes his free hand and wraps it around the back of your neck, forcing you to look at him.

"Look in my eyes when you come, slut." He orders, a light layer of sweat coating his forehead and his lips trembling as he pants, never missing a beat as he plunges his fingers in and out of you.

You look into his eyes, the both of you overcome with lust between you- his fingers connecting your bodies in a more powerful pleasure than you'd ever felt before.

"Yes, good.... Good girl." He growls under his breath.

Kylo's lips gape slightly as a shudder vibrates through him. "If you want to come, you'd better fucking ask me." He says angrily as he continues to thrust his fingers in and out of you aggressively.

"Can... can I come, Commander? Please?"

Kylo pants as he picks up his speed more, looking deep into your eyes and supporting your head by the back of your neck.

"Come- come on my hand now." He orders.

As you feel your orgasm beginning to tip over the edge and beginning to tear through you, an overwhelming pressure begins to explode within your head, forcing a scream from your lungs. Your body convulses through what you momentarily believe to be your orgasm, but you quickly realize what it truly is- Kylo invading your mind.

The combination from the beginning of what would have been an explosive orgasm and Kylo using the force to intrude on your mind collide into a devastating burst within your head.

Your body falls to a slump and your vision completely blacks out, taking all of your senses with it.


	7. Resolution

You lie in a state of partial consciousness, enveloped in blissful comfort as you relax on a warm surface surrounded by a repetitive beeping noise. Upon your exploration of your thoughts, you immediately jolt awake when you realize what just happened. You practically fling yourself up to a sitting position, relieved to find that you no longer find yourself constrained to the interrogation surface.

The beeping noise accelerates as you pant in shock, realizing that it must be a heart monitor. It only takes a brief glance around you to recognize where you are- a brightly-lit medbay, lying in a cot and attached to several of the panels in the wall monitoring your heartbeat and status. You glance down to see that you had been changed into a light-colored medbay gown and have monitor patches along with an IV attached to your inner arm, cringing at the sight of it.

Brief memories of what had just occurred cross your mind- realizing you were on Starkiller Base, being strapped to an interrogation surface, and Kylo prodding your mind- amongst prodding other things. The thought of the things he had done to your body make your blood rush to your cheeks. You find yourself chewing at your inner lip at the memory of his fingers inside of you.

The warm feeling you have in your stomach while thinking of Kylo’s touch is abruptly cut short by the realization that he had done it- gotten in your head. You had been in several sticky situations with the Guild and withstood torture on many occasions, but you’re shocked to admit that he had truly used your own tricks against you. Who knows what kind of information he was able to obtain from you; The Guild? Your family? Lairae can protect herself- but it was who she was protecting that would be in grave danger if the First Order knew of him. A deep shudder trickles down your spine at the idea of them finding out who he was and what he was capable of.

You shake your head at the horrifying thought and realize you don’t have much time. You have to run- get back to your family, and get them as far away from the First Order as possible.

With a brisk swipe, you toss your duvet off of your torso and look down at your arm to examine everything that you’re hooked up to. You swiftly rip off the patches, causing your heart monitor to flatline you toss them to the floor.

“Oh- miss!” A voice says nearby, you being too distracted to be spooked.

You glance up to see a silver protocol droid on the other side of the room approaching you as you work on the last patch, its sticky underside pulling stubbornly the skin of your forearm.

“Miss, it is imperative that you leave the medical apparatus attached.” The protocol droid says.

“That won’t be necessary, thank you.”

“I have been given specific instructions to advise you to remain in-place and to alert Commander Ren of your awakening.” The droid insists, turning to the control panel on the wall and beginning to enter a message.

“Commander Ren? Oh, you don’t need to tell him, I can tell him myself.” You say.

A feeling of panic begins to set in as the droid starts transmitting the message to Kylo. You look down at your IV, frozen for a moment before grasping the end of it.

You take a moment to prepare yourself with a deep breath before tightening your grip on the IV and yanking it out as quickly as you can, sending a sharp, stinging pain up and down your arm. Blood immediately begins to seep from the spot where the IV was torn from and from the IV itself as you drop it on the ground, causing a small blood spatter across the floor. You use the front of your medbay gown to put pressure on your open wound and stand up to your feet.

You grimace as you feel an immediate pain in your head and between your legs.

“M’am, you’re bleeding!” The protocol droid exclaims as the bloodstain on your gown expands around from where you tore the IV.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, thank you.” You say, grasping your arm and walking towards the door to escape.

“You cannot leave-”

A soft hissing fills the room as the doors open and you decide to make a run for it, quickly stepping outside before turning to sprint down the hall. To your surprise, you run directly into a tall, dark figure, rebounding off of their large frame so hard that you stumble backwards and fall onto your backside.

You grunt in aggravation as you steady your hands underneath yourself. “Dammit, what-” Your words are cut short by the shockwaves that radiate through your body as you realize who you ran into.

“You’re bleeding.” Kylo states through his helmet as he looks down at you. Even though you can’t see his face, it’s almost as if you can almost sense the slightest feeling of empathy radiating from him.

You sigh in frustration and you relax your hands, sitting back on your elbows as you look back up at Kylo. “Of course you’re here. Why would you not be here?” You ask sarcastically.

“I was monitoring your heart rate from my chambers and noticed it stopped. I assume you removed the monitoring apparatus, and your IV by the looks of it.”

“And why do you care?” You ask.

He remains frozen in time for a moment before he answers, almost as if out of hesitation. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

“Does that mean I get to be robbed of an orgasm again? Lucky me.”

“Keep your voice down.” He warns angrily, his previous empathy clearly gone. “Get up.”

You cock your head. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said- no.”

Kylo’s head shakes slightly as if he’s baffled, emanating a mechanical sigh from his helmet as he steps closer to you. He reaches down and in one quick movement, grasps you by your waist and throws you over his shoulder with ease.

“Put me down!” You yell, thrashing and kicking against his grip.

He doesn’t seem to notice, his strength and size easily overpowering yours as he carries you back into the medbay. He brings you across the room and tosses you back down on your cot, your sore pains now spreading through your body from all of the movement.

“What did you do to me?” You exclaim.

He chuckles. “You remember what I did to you.”

“No, I-”

“You thoroughly enjoyed it. You were practically begging for more.”

“You-” You stop, turning your head slowly to see the protocol droid standing in the corner, looking between you and Kylo and following the conversation intently. “Uh… do you mind?”

“Oh- yes, of course.” The droid says before making its way to the door and exiting the room, leaving you and Kylo alone.

“You know what I’m talking about- what did you do?” You insist.

“I told you.” He explains. “I did what I had to do in order to get the information I needed. You happened to enjoy it.”

“What information?” You ask as your throat suddenly dries out in horror, deeply hoping he didn’t truly figure everything out.

“Oh, but I did.” He responds to your thoughts. “I know everything about your little mission, the Guild- everything.”

“What mis-”

“Don’t play dumb.” He cuts you off. “It’s not an attractive look on you.”

“Ouch.” You say. “So, if you know so much, then why am I still here?”

“I told you, I’m not done with you.” He says simply. “I was able to figure out more about your real identity and I must say- I wouldn’t guess that someone of your capabilities would do so feebly with a lightsaber in battle.”

You scoff, unable to cloak your disgust at being accused of being unskilled. “Well, my opponents don’t usually have as much experience as you do. It’s not everyday you have to fight someone who’s practically an expert with a saber, let alone someone who can use the force.” You quickly snap back at him defensively, scowling at his insult.

“Where did you get it exactly?” He asks.

“I thought you got everything you wanted.”

“I dug for some answers more than others. Tell me where you got it.”  
You lean up on the cot to a sitting position, trying to regain some control on your posture before speaking, unsure what kind of information could set him off knowing his temper.

“I got it on a mission. On Takodana.” You answer simply, knowing there wasn’t much to hide considering you likely wouldn’t see your saber again anyways. “I had a job there and found it amongst some rubble.”

“You stole it?”

“To be fair, the person before me probably stole it, too. There was a whole collection of Jedi memorabilia there. An eye for an eye, if you ask me.”

“Where did you learn how to wield it?” He continues, seeming not to care much about your explanation.

“I taught myself.” You say.

“But why use it if you’re not trained? You don’t even seem to be force-sensitive.”

“Shock factor.” You answer immediately, that being an easy answer.

He stares at you in silence, his chronically blank helmet devoid of any readable emotion or thought process as always. You couldn’t tell if he was trying to get in your mind or if he was stuck in his own.

“Why am I here?” You ask out of curiosity, coming to the conclusion that you clearly weren’t ever going to get your chance at Hux and feeling eager to go home.

“I told you, I’m not done with you.” He says calmly.

“And how in the galaxy would someone like me be of use to you? I’m not even a real Sergeant.” You ask incredulously, still in disbelief that he hadn’t killed you yet.

“I know.” He says. “You alerted that to me on the TIE silencer when I asked you if part of your protocol was to be able to pilot any ship- it’s not.”

“So you knew?” You ask. “You knew then and there that I wasn’t who I claimed to be?”

“Correct.” He answers instantly.

“And you still slung me over your knee and put your hands on me?”

“... correct.”

“Why?”

He contemplates for a moment. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Fine.” You resolve, part of you tempted to push him for a better answer but suddenly very cognisant of how much pain you were in from yesterday’s events alone. “Then what do you want?”

“You’re nobody the Resistance has seen yet, aside from Poe who is still in our custody, and you have the skillset to be a great asset to us. One of our stormtroopers deserted the First Order a while ago to work with the Resistance and we believe he’ll recognize most of our members; we need someone on the inside.”

“Well, good luck finding someone to help you with that.” You say with a smirk.

“We don’t need luck. We have you.”

You stifle a chuckle, shaking your head. “Like hell.”

“You will continue to work with the First Order until we are presented with the opportunity to send you undercover into the Resistance to gather intel. Do well, and I will see you’re sent home safely and with more than enough credits to greatly surpass whatever you were offered before to kill Hux.”

“I still don’t think I’m grasping the part where I actually have the motivation to help you?”

Suddenly, the force is at your throat, constricting your air supply. Kylo swiftly moves closer to you, the feeling of his leather-covered fingers pressing against your skin, but his touch never coming in contact with you.

“You will comply.” Kylo orders. “Or I’m afraid your little family of two back on Tatooine will pay the price for your disobedience.”

You feel the deepest depths of your heart drop, stealing the breath from your lungs and the life from your soul quicker than the invisible fingers around your neck. Nothing could have gotten you to comply with Kylo- anything in the Universe, not even the price of your life- except for this.

“I see we understand each other.” Kylo says simply before releasing the grip on your neck.

You briefly gasp at the relief of the pressure for only a second before speaking.

“Please, don’t… don’t hurt them.”

“Supreme Leader Snoke will be interested in hearing the details behind your family, particularly the one your mother is hiding.”

“Don’t.” You plead, suddenly desperate. “Please don’t… just, let them live in safety. I’ll do whatever-” You cut yourself off, dropping your gaze.

Kylo cocks his head slightly, his gaze intent even through his mask. “What was that?”

You sigh, quickly weighing your options out before realizing you have none.

“I’ll do whatever you want. Just please- don’t hurt them.”

“Ah,” He says mechanically. “That’s better.”

You keep your gaze down and instinctually bring your hand to your neck, grazing the area that felt his invisible touch.

“I know you crave more.” He remarks to break the silence. Suddenly you feel a gloved hand underneath your chin, lifting your gaze back up to meet his, your accelerating heartbeat reminding you exactly what he was talking about. “You seem so eager to attack me- to kill me- but the other side of you hasn’t changed since the moment we met on the bridge.”

You find yourself frozen in his gaze, feeling betrayed by your body for a countless time.

“You’re wrong.” You say stubbornly, feeling that same dark feeling spark in between your legs.

Kylo’s gaze falls, stopping between your thighs as if you’d voiced your thoughts aloud.

“Am I?” He asks.

You squirm slightly, crossing your ankles and pressing your legs together.

“Listen closely.” He warns, his grip on your chin expanding to hold your jaw tightly. “I have had a transmitter chip placed in you. If you run- you die. Once you have completed your duties, you will be free to return home with your credits. Until then, you will obey my orders…”

Kylo then slowly lifts his thumb and runs it across your bottom lip, the sensation of the leather against your skin driving your imagination wild.

“... all of them.” He says definitively.

You’re frozen, not out of some kind of control from the force, but from a complete lack of ability to know what to say next- a position you’d never found yourself in under a man’s touch.

“Speak.” He says through the silence.

“You… you swear nothing will happen to my family?” You whisper. “You promise?”

An impatient sigh comes from underneath Kylo’s mask. “If you’re obedient… then you have my word.”

“Fine, then… I’ll do it. But not for you- for them”

“Good.” He says, dragging his finger across your lip one last time, a bewildered combination of emotions radiating from him even underneath his helmet. “You will return to your normal duties promptly tomorrow morning, and I will be keeping a close eye on you. I believe we have a spy amongst us, so this assignment- it stays between us. Perhaps if you earn my trust, I might allow you to wield a lightsaber again.”

“My saber? Where is it?”

“The saber belongs to me. I might let you borrow it on your travels into the Resistance once I have decided to deploy you, but until then I expect you to be on your best behavior; do I make myself clear?”

You furrow your brows stubbornly.

“Answer me.” He orders.

“Fine, whatever.”

“Excuse me?” He asks, the anticipation growing in him strong enough to feel in the air. But based on the pain you’d felt in between your legs just from standing up earlier, you decide that now is not the best time to find out exactly what he had planned.

“I- yes, I’ll... I’ll be on my best behavior.” You agree reluctantly.

Kylo’s grip tightens on your jaw at your response.

“Sir.” You conclude upon his subtle reminder.

An agitated huff escapes your lungs as Kylo pulls his hand away before he turns to leave the medbay, stopping for only a moment at the door to exit.

“And something else- hiding your thoughts from me makes you seem untrustworthy. Stop hiding them from me.” He says over his shoulder. “That’s an order.”

“Well,” You say as you swing your legs back over the edge of the cot, “You might not like what you hear.”

He doesn’t respond, only pausing for a second before leaving you alone in the medbay.

You had been dreading the next day all evening.

For many reasons- first of all, you knew that the soreness you’d felt in the medbay would only be worse today, which was reaffirmed as soon as you woke up and came to your feet on the cold, metallic floors of your chambers on Starkiller Base. Second, you’d have to face your “job”- which included Lieutenant Myra and Hux- with no specific end in sight, which was almost the worst part. Third, and definitely the most-horrifying, you would have to do it all on your “best behavior”. Whatever that meant.

By the time you had located the Command Center’s conference room and arrived for morning briefing, Lieutenant Myra was already on you about your absence seeing as you’d been out for at least a day or two following the expedition to Kashyyyk.

“Where have you been?!” She asks in alarm. “Why are you even here if you’re not going to show up for duty?”

“Sergeant Atwell.” Hux greets upon Lieutenant Myra bringing his attention to your arrival to work. “I trust you feel better?”

“I-” You aren’t sure how to answer, confused for a moment before realizing Kylo is the only one who knows about everything that had transpired after Hux had wandered into the forest. “Am feeling so much better, thank you for asking.”

Lieutenant Myra scowls at you, her tone spitting and angry. “What kind of injury would be so bad that-”

“Stepping in front of her superior to take a shot from a blaster, that’s what would.” Hux cuts her off defensively, his usual grimace softening a bit. “Which reminds me- thank you, Atwell. Your sacrifice to the First Order is… acknowledged. And appreciated.”

“You are very welcome, sir.” You improvise with the slightest of smiles, mostly at the humor of the story that Kylo had undoubtedly created for you. You were practically a double spy at this point, yet you were now branded a hero.

“Have a seat. Commander Ren shall be here any moment.” Hux instructs, immediately shutting Lieutenant Myra down.

As you gaze out the window and watch ships pass through the black abyss while waiting for briefing to begin, a familiar face enters the briefing room, his eager eyes alight and a smile upon his blush lips.

“Dane.” You say as he enters, the slightest bit of happiness warming your heart for a moment. Though he was evidently and consistently naive, the innocence behind his loyalty to the First Order was admirable and heartwarming, even in this setting.

“Atwell!” He silently exclaims as he spots you from the door and beelines for the open seat next to you. “Did you hear?”

“About?” That I’ve got a ridiculous, indefinite job assignment as a double spy and I could be stuck here until the end of known time? No, I hadn’t the slightest clue.

“I’ve been promoted- already!” He discloses enthusiastically, seemingly more out of excitement than the need to brag. You couldn’t envision him actually bragging about something, likely out of fear of hurting someone’s feelings. These thoughts crossed your mind briefly and made you question how he even got involved with the First Order in the first place considering you couldn’t even imagine him hurting a bug.

“Wow.” You comment, this being the only thing you’ve actually been happy to hear in months. “That’s amazing, congratulations.”

“Yeah, my superior was struck down on Kashyyyk. Something about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

You can’t help but wonder for a moment if it had anything to do with Kylo whisking you off of the planet without anybody noticing. Maybe someone noticed. Had Kylo killed someone in order to get you off the planet?

“So, does that mean it’s Lieutenant Dane now?” You ask, unable to stop yourself from feeding off of his excitement.

“It does indeed, Lieutenant Dane at your service, m’am.”

“Well congratulations, Lieutenant.” You say with a smile, forgetting all of the horrendous things that come with that title for only a moment to enjoy his happiness with him.

Everyone falls silent as the doors to the conference room whisk open, the aggressive energy coming from them enough to tell you who had arrived. Kylo’s footsteps echo throughout the now-silent room as he walks to the end of the table by the window, his robes flowing behind him when he comes to a stop and pulls up a holograph without an explanation.

“Can someone tell me what planet this is?” He asks as a holograph of a planet unfamiliar to you appears just above the conference table. You keep your gaze on the planet and away from Kylo. “General Hux?”

“Hoth.” Hux answers easily. “Known for its particularly-unforgiving icy terrain and lack of intelligent life.”

“So then why would our receptors be sensing an unusual amount of activity on a

planet so devoid of life?” Kylo asks.

“Hoth has been a location that housed rebel bases in the past many, many years ago.” Hux says. “Perhaps we are receiving delayed signals.”

“Perhaps not.” Kylo dismisses Hux. “I would suggest that our superior technology- the very technology that you were instrumental in approving, General Hux- would be much more accurate than that.”

“Yes, I would hope so, sir.” Hux says awkwardly.

“Any other ideas?” Kylo asks.

Dane clears his throat.

Oh god, please don’t get yourself killed. -You beg internally.

“Sir, if I might make a suggestion?” Dane asks, his voice shaky at first.

Kylo slowly turns his head to Dane, expectant without speaking. You hold your breath in anticipation as memories of Kylo executing staff members back on the bridge of the Finalizer just for looking at him wrong flood your memory.

Dane inhales deeply in preparation before answering. “Once the compressor has been replaced on the Finalizer, might I suggest a venture into Hoth to sweep the old rebellion base? If the old base is clear, then we can station ourselves there before raking the rest of the planet to eliminate the planet as a possibility. Once it’s cleared, we can station staff there on the old base to investigate any future activity. And since the Finalizer will be finished by then, we can chase them down if they’re located and try to flee.”

As blissfully-ignorant and inexperienced as Dan is, even you knew it wasn’t a bad idea. You knew Kylo was leading to the idea of another excursion, but that the rest of the staff would likely be less-enthusiastic to investigating every single lead, and stationing staff in the old base would be effective in the long-term.

Another Lieutenant across the table agrees with Dane’s idea and sparks a conversation down regarding the possibilities of executing it. Even Lieutenant Myra seems agreeable with the concept for a moment. The voices begin to blend together into chatter, and Kylo places either hand on the end of the table to lean forward from his standing position and listen in on the conversations, likely to invade their thoughts to scope out the spy. You try to follow along but can’t hear well enough to keep up and let your gaze wander between their faces before turning back to the other end of the table to look at Kylo.

Kylo’s gaze stays on the group for a moment before shifting to meet yours as if you’re the only ones in the room. He seems inquisitive for a moment at your thoughts of the spy, and you shrug, small and unnoticeably, answering his unspoken question that you’re truly unsure if the spy could be anyone in the room. You look away, thinking you addressed him and trying to refocus on the now-debate going on down the table- but the pressure on your frontal lobe insists otherwise.

You turn back to Kylo, more distinctly and brazen than before, and stare right through where his eyes would fall on his helmet.

What? - You think to yourself. - What could you possibly need in the middle of a Command briefing?

Kylo looks down the table at the debate and back at you.

Why not go to Hoth? You’ve got nothing to lose. You have no leads anyways. - You mentally respond. - Maybe Dane’s the brains you needed, after all. I mean, based on the four brain cells that you and Hux share-

Kylo cuts your thoughts off by blinding your mind with a quick flash of your memories of him forcing you over his knee on the TIE silencer, causing you to blink repeatedly to break his control. You peer at him from underneath your lashes, aggravated by him putting you in such a compromising position in the middle of a briefing.

Two can play at that game.

You scoot your chair in closer to the table to cover your lower torso and look straight back at Kylo across the head of the table and slowly widen your legs, just enough to be inappropriate in this setting but still hidden by the table. The tiniest bit of a smirk touches one corner of your lips as you mentally reminisce of the memories of Kylo ripping your bodysuit open back in the interrogation room.

Kylo immediately breaks his gaze on you and looks in the opposite direction at the blank wall on the other side of the room- but his mind is still entangled with yours.

You think back to last night when you were changing into your sleepwear, gently pulling your bra off and exposing your chest to the cold air of your chambers, and of about a week ago to your last memories of pleasuring yourself under your covers in your quarters on the Finalizer- the way your wet skin felt in-between your fingers and the way you’d made your own back arch in orgasm as you had bit your lip to keep yourself quiet, desperate for that touch to belong to someone else. You replace the image of your own fingers with the image of Kylo’s- his fingers, his mouth.

It seems to very quickly be too much for him to tolerate.

“We will leave immediately after the Finalizer’s repairs are complete.” Kylo says while charging out of the briefing room. “Dane- get a team together.”

“Yes, sir.” Dane is able to say just before Kylo disappears out of the briefing room.

Kylo’s hold over you finally breaks as he ventures further and further away, leaving everyone in the briefing room to their chatter again. You find your mouth pooled with saliva and gulp deeply at how quickly everything had just happened.

“... right?!” Dane asks.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” You ask, not having realized he was talking to you.

“I said- wait, are you okay?” Dane asks from beside you, his tone genuine and concerned. “You’re completely flushed.”

You hadn’t realized you were blushing- you shake your head to snap yourself out of it completely, just now noticing everyone is leaving the room.

“Yeah, I just… was probably holding my breath.”

“You’re telling me!” He exclaims while pulling your chair out. “That was the scariest moment of my life!”

“Well, you did it.” You say, snapping back to reality. “You got a team!”  
“Yeah! And of course, I want you on it.” He stammers, suddenly awkward.

“Me?” You ask, confused.

“Yes, you.” He says with a conviction you’re certain you’ve never possessed. “Your work on Coruscant was nothing short of the highest caliber, and I heard about what happened on Kashyyyk- why wouldn’t I want you on my team?”

“I mean…” My entire career is fake, but go figure. “... I’m happy to help if you want me there.”

“Absolutely.”

“Atwell can’t be part of ‘your team’ because she’s bridge staff and she’ll already be there.” Lieutenant Myra comments from behind you as she passes to exit the briefing room.

“Well, that’s no good.” Dane comments, clearly disappointed as he scratches his dark hair.

“It’s okay, you wouldn’t want me on your team, anyways.” You say as you follow him out to the hall that leads out of the Command wing. “Apparently I’m still on medical watch. I’m practically a dud.”

“Don’t say that.” Dane says, his tone suddenly serious and his eyes gleaming in shock. “You’re exceptional at your job. The only reason you’ve not been promoted yet is because they’re probably grooming you to promote through the bridge’s chain of command, and we all know Lieutenant Myra isn’t going anywhere. Don’t be so hard on yourself; you’re strong, confident, pretty...”

Dane seems to become uncomfortable out of the corner of your eye.

“Oh, I-” You find yourself at a loss of words, suddenly just as uncomfortable as he clearly is. “Dane, you’re such an amazing person, but I don’t think… that I think of you in that way…”

“Oh no, me either!” He stammers, quickly realizing how his words came across. “No, I’m actually married.”

“Married?!” You feel your brows arching in shock.

“Yeah, my husband is a technician back on the other side of the base.” He says, a large smile expanding across his cheeks. “But don’t tell anyone- I think the lady in the cafeteria gives me extra blue milk with my lunch everyday because she fancies me.”

You purse your lips through a smile at the simplicity of the things Sam trifles himself with compared to the usual concerns a Lieutenant for the First Order must have. “That makes me happy. What’s his name?”

“Eric. He’s working on the new TIE fighter models in the combat hangar.”

“Oh, so he’s one of the really, really smart ones.” You remark, genuinely impressed. “I suppose that makes sense- one of you has to be the brains, right?”

“Hey,” Dane remarks, “I’ve got brains.”

“Just because you have a brain doesn’t make you smart.” You joke as you and Dane walk down the crowded hallway by the Command hangar. “Some people are meant to design the most lethal combat ships in the galaxy, and others are meant to attend meetings and look pretty. It’s really okay if you’re the latter.”

Dane smiles, his perfect teeth gleaming against his dark skin. “Well, you attend the same meetings and look pretty, so…”

“You got me there.” You say through a chuckle.

“Atwell.” Hux says as he approaches you from the edge of the hangar and motions for you to join him.

“Go. Go meet people and look pretty.” Dane says as he continues down the hall.

You fake a scowl at him as he walks away before joining Hux in the hangar.

“Yes, sir?” You ask.

“Have you ever ventured to Hoth?” Hux asks, his usual irritated demeanor near-nonexistent as he hustles to prepare staff for the upcoming trip.

“No, sir.”

“Good. Me either.” He shakes his head while overlooking all of the engineers preparing countless TIE fighters. “It’s unbearably cold, so I’ve heard. Our TIE fighters have a higher likelihood of being impared by its weather, so we will be deploying more stormtroopers than usual for the expedition. All available command presence will be deployed along with them for the inspection of the planet.”

“Understood. Is there anywhere in particular that I might be able to assist in preparing for the excursion until we deploy?”

“Actually, yes. It would be helpful if you would go check the progress on the compressor- it should be safer now that the Finalizer is grounded- and see that Commander Ren and the other Command staff don’t need any more assistance before we depart.”

You feel a twinge in your stomach at the combination of anticipation and unease of his last request. “Of course, sir. Right away.”

It takes you the better half of the hour to locate the outdoor wing that the Finalizer is being worked on and to be able to find the engineers working on the compressor.

The engineers work frantically in light of the upcoming excursion to finish installing the new compressor, which is even larger in person than you could imagine, scaling several stories high and even further in width. They are just finishing switching the compressors out when you arrive to check on its progress. One of the engineers, seemingly respectable enough to take time out of their work to speak with you, rushes over to advise you that the compressor could be ready as early as this evening if they don’t experience any more interruptions- which probably means you. You oblige and leave quickly, messaging the update to Hux from your datapad on your way out.

Next, you check in with Lieutenant Myra in one of the coordination rooms who seems offended that you’d “ever assume she couldn’t handle her own responsibilities”, to which you leave the room as quickly as you’d entered.

Dane seems just as excited to see you as he had an hour ago and thanks you repeatedly for checking on him, briefly asking you for advice on choosing the rest of his team before he sends you off with encouragement. If only he’d known where he was sending you off to.

Dread pits in your stomach as you begin your search for Kylo throughout the command wing. This being your first and possibly only day here, you don’t even have the slightest idea where you would find him.

You try to message Kylo from your datapad, but he doesn’t answer.

“Have you seen Commander Ren?” You ask Hux as you pass him for what you assume to be the tenth time.

“He’s not in one of the coordination rooms?”

“No, and not the briefing room, or the other hangar, or anywhere else.”

“Have you checked his chambers?”  
You stare at Hux as if he’s missing something. “I am not going to his chambers.”

“Why… wouldn’t you?” He asks in apparent confusion.

You quickly remember the lack of knowledge Hux has about what has secretly

transpired between you and Kylo over the last few weeks.

“You’re right.” You say through a sigh. “Why not. I’ll check there. Where are they?”

“His chambers are down the hall from yours at the end of the Command quartering area.” Hux answers, his tone slightly suspicious but seemingly too occupied to concern himself with you.

You nod and turn on your heels towards the Command Chambers, every instinct in your body telling you to run the other way in hopes that you could find something else to do to stall yourself before getting to Kylo’s chambers. As you pass your chambers and continue down the bright hall to the oversized doors that loom at the dead-end of your path, you feel your stomach begin to curl in your nerves.

You come to a halt in front of Kylo’s doors, unsure if you should knock or simply announce your presence from the outside of the door. You decide to knock and bring a shaky fist up to the door.

The doors open before your knuckles can touch it.

Kylo stands in front of you, clad in his typical robes and helmet. His shoulders are rising and falling as if he had just been exerting himself.

“Is… now a bad time?” You ask.

Kylo doesn’t answer. Instead, he grunts as he steps forward and wraps his hand around the back of your neck and yanks you inside through the door.

He throws you forward, causing you to stumble over your feet into his quarters.

“I thought I warned you not to do that again.” Kylo says angrily as he follows you further into his quarters.

You turn around to see Kylo towering over you, getting closer and closer. You instinctively back up as he gains on you, shrinking down under his power.

“Do what?!”  
“You know what.”

Your walking is abruptly cut off by the feeling of a short surface hitting the backs of your knees and causing you to collapse backwards. Your rear end hits a soft surface that you would assume to be a bed.

Kylo’s hand is immediately at your throat, angling you up at him. “Don’t you ever put me in a position like that again.”

“What-” You gasp through his grip, your hands grabbing his forearm over his sleeve. “Are you talking about in the briefing room?”

“Exactly.”

“To be fair,” You gasp, “You did it first.”

Kylo’s chaotic energy immediately fades as the image of resolution washes over him. His fingers twitch against your neck. “Clearly you don’t understand.”

Your insides twist at his words. “Nope.”  
It doesn’t take Kylo long to angle himself on the edge of the bed and yank you forward over his knee again. You feel an excited spurring inside of you at the reminder of your punishment on the TIE fighter.

Kylo takes your uniform hat off and throws it across the room, easily grasping the bun on the back of your head with ease and positioning your rear end on his lap. “What the hell did I tell you about being on your best behavior?”

“I don’t know; I wasn’t listening.” You answer, your instincts screaming at you not to push him contradicted by the growing warmth in-between your legs.

A hard smack comes down on your rear end, much harder than the first time, immediately eliciting a yelp from you as he pulls your hair back under the impact.

“What’s that?” He asks, his uneven breathing evident even through the mask.

“I said…” You say in excitement through your panting, “... that I wasn’t fucking listening.”

Kylo brings his hand down without hesitation onto your rear end again- once, twice, three times, somehow even harder than before, sending an electric wave of pain and pleasure through your body. You can’t tell which sensation draws the noises coming from your lips. You curse under your breath, both irate and content with yourself.

“Here’s what you’re going to do.” Kylo instructs, moving his other hand from your hair to your jaw to angle you up to him. “You’re going to be on your best behavior and follow my orders- if you don’t, do you know what will happen?”

You shake your head.

“Open your mouth.”

You obey, indulging in the feeling of relinquishing control as you feel the bulge in Kylo’s pants growing underneath you.

Kylo runs his thumb along your bottom lip for a moment before slowly sliding it into your mouth and into the back of your throat. “Suck.”

You bring your lips down around his thumb and follow his directions, sucking on his gloved finger, the taste of his leather glove gracing your tongue. Kylo presses down on your tongue as he forces his thumb further, causing you to gag.

“If you don’t follow directions, it will no longer be my thumb in your mouth. Do you understand?”

You nod, feeling his thumb swirl in your mouth, reminding you of what it felt like when it was on your clit.

“I promise you will not enjoy it as much as you think you will.” He comments, pulling his thumb from your mouth and wiping it on the shoulder of your uniform.

You’re tempted to respond, to push your limits, but are interrupted by a knocking on the door.

He quickly stands you up and uses the force to bring your hat through the air and into his hand before giving it to you. You recognize he would likely be ignoring the door if it wasn’t someone important and hurry to put your hat on while shuffling to stand at attention by the door.

Kylo straightens up his robes before answering.

“Captain Phasma.” Kylo greets as he answers the door. “Come in.”

A tall, armed stormtrooper enters Kylo’s quarters. But this stormtrooper was

different- their entire uniform was entirely silver and metallic in appearance. You could clearly see your reflection in the practically-mirrored shine of them, revealing to you just how flustered you look.

Captain Phasma turns in what appears to be surprise to see you.

“Captain Phasma, this is Command Sergeant Atwell from the bridge chain of command.” Kylo introduces as the doors shut behind Captain Phasma. “Atwell, this is Captain Phasma. She will be deploying with us to the expedition on Hoth.”

“I would prefer to consider it an extermination, but ‘excursion’ will suffice.” Captain Phasma says to the both of you, her voice mechanical like Kylo’s behind her helmet but much smoother.

“What do you need?” Kylo asks her impatiently.

“The itinerary. Will we be holding an additional expedition briefing on the Finalizer?” She asks, clearly trying to mentally navigate what might have been going on between you and Kylo before she arrived.

“Affirmative.” Kylo answers. “We’ll be leaving…” He trails off to look to you for an answer.

“Within a few hours, as Commander Ren and I were just discussing. I just checked on the compressor and the engineers advised they’ll be done soon.”

“Very well. I shall meet with Hux to ready the stormtroopers.” She concludes. “Would you two care to join me?”

“Yes, m’am.” You say, eagerly on her heels as she turns to exit the room.

Kylo’s footsteps keep up behind you as you follow Phasma down the hall towards the hangar to meet with Hux.

Throughout the walk, Phasma asks Kylo a collection of questions that you can’t keep

up with, so you nod and follow along as your mind wanders. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Kylo’s hand twitching at his side and glance up to see him keeping his focus forward a bit too intently. His head tilts slightly as if to look at you, but he continues to keep his eyes away from your frame as if he’s restraining himself.

You peer at him out of the corner of your eye as you purposely flood your mind with images of what you thought would have happened in his chambers if you hadn’t been interrupted. You would have pushed him further and found out just how heavy his hand was, amongst other things.

Kylo’s hand immediately tightens into a fist, his responses to Phasma becoming shorter and more spread apart. Your mouth tightens into a smirk as you think as loudly and clearly as you can manage about all the ways he could’ve taken you in his quarters alone. You hear an angry sigh sound from his mask as you finally approach the Finalizer boarding ramp to follow Kylo and Phasma inside.

It doesn’t take the Finalizer long to reach the biting atmosphere of Hoth, and you spend the majority of the journey chatting with Dane about his team and his choices for each position. It really does seem like he has everything together and has been enjoying his newfound responsibilities as he rants about his new position on Starkiller and what his responsibilities will be when on the Finalizer before enthusing about his excitement to see a Tauntaun on Hoth. He’s much too overwhelmed with excitement when you admit you don’t know what a Tauntaun is and gets to explain to you every possible detail of them for the rest of the ride.

“We’ve arrived in the atmosphere of Hoth.” Phasma announces as the Finalizer comes to a hovering stop just outside of Hoth’s atmosphere. “As we previously discussed, everyone shall work in pairs at minimum- our first task is to locate the old rebellion base. Echo Base should be located just beyond the northernmost portion of the planet if approached from the direction of the Finalizer. Once we have located Echo Base, we will be clearing it and establishing a First Order base within. Nobody is to exit their transports under any circumstances until instructed to do so due to the lack of predictability with the weather. Any questions?”

Nobody answers, and the countless stormtroopers in the deployment bay stand at attention.

“Good. All clear.” Phasma says followed by the stormtroopers beginning to board their transports. “Lieutenant, you’re with me.”

Dane springs to his feet and follows Phasma towards her TIE fighter, leaving you alone with Hux and Lieutenant Myra.

“Atwell, let’s go.” Hux orders.

“Negative.” An approaching voice says, causing you to reflexively drop your gaze. “Atwell will be coming with me. Lieutenant Myra is under your command and still on probation.”

“Very well.” Hux says, motioning for Lieutenant Myra to follow him to his TIE fighter.

The footsteps that are paired with the voice come to a stop in front of you. “Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir.” You whisper, following the back of Kylo’s boots into the TIE silencer.

The inside of the TIE silencer is much colder than you remember- your hands shake once again as you strap yourself in behind the cockpit, relieved that the thin wall separates you from Kylo even the tiniest bit.

Neither of you speak a word as you wait for your turn to depart from the Finalizer and eventually rise up to pull out of the hangar into Hoth’s atmosphere. You nervously chew on the inside of your cheek as you try to mentally follow where you might be going and eventually resort to utilizing the wayfinder in the back, which is mostly blocked from the heavy blizzard that seems to be ongoing on Hoth’s blurred atmosphere.

All you can see is the bright, snowy blanket of ice that covers Hoth’s surface like the thick sand that dances upon the dunes of Tatooine. It’s almost enough to remind you of home for a moment, before your thoughts are cut off by the image of the rest of the transports and TIE fighters getting further and further away from you.

“You’re going to lose them.” You point out, peering deep into the wayfinder to keep track of them disappearing from your vision.

“No, I’m not.” Kylo says as the TIE silencer comes to a stop mid-air and hovers far away from all of the other ships.

“But how are we-”

You quickly stop speculating aloud when you hear Kylo unbuckling himself from the cockpit before his arm reaches out and waves two fingers at you.

“Come here.” He orders through his mask.

You obey, knowing well that you had probably already earned whatever he had planned and not yet desiring to make it worse. Once unbuckled, you take a deep breath and step forward to face Kylo in the cockpit.

“Do you have any idea… how you frustrate me when you disobey me publicly?”

You shake your head. “I think I’ve been on great behavior.”

“Do not mistake me sparing your life for forgiveness- I think you know very well what you’ve been doing, and I am unwilling to tolerate it any longer. I believe I’ve given you several chances to correct your behavior.”

“My behavior?” You ask, pretending to be astounded. “What do you mean?”

“This is your final warning. I can assure you- the corrections I have in mind are not gentle.”

You look Kylo up and down for a moment. Then you roll your eyes.

Kylo’s shoulders shift slightly as if he’s laughing, but not a single sound escapes him. “There you go, rolling your eyes again.”

He leans forward and activates his radio. “Silencer to all units; I will be conducting an audio scan of the planet- nobody bother me until I’m finished.” He orders.

He receives an acknowledgement before he shuts down his radio entirely and powers down the ship’s lights, only leaving a red glow from the sunlight that emanates through the red glass windshield in the darkness. Kylo sits back in the pilot’s chair, his typically-black exterior glowing red in the dark cockpit.

In an instant, Kylo closes the space between you, using the force to drag you down into his grip, one of his hands immediately at the back of your neck pulling you in front of him. He pulls you downwards, forcing you onto your knees as he spreads his legs.

Your breathing hitches as you steady yourself. Kylo takes your hat off and throws it onto the dashboard before grabbing your bun in a tight fist.

“Undo my pants.” He orders. “You’re going to take my cock in your mouth until you’ve learned your lesson.”

A breath escapes your lungs in surprise as you swallow your saliva and reach up to loosen the thick belt securing his coat and pull it open to expose his shirt underneath, tucked into his pants that lie tight against his already-hardened bulge. Your breath is shaky in anticipation as you unbuckle his pants and drag them down enough to expose his underwear, pretending you don’t already notice his hardness that is hardly concealed.

“Take it out.” Kylo orders.

You obey, taking another breath as you carefully pull the front edge of his underwear down.

Before you can take it out yourself, the hardness of Kylo’s dick escapes the top edge of his underwear, massive and already completely erect. You don’t even have to contemplate if it’s the largest one you’d ever seen, all you could manage to do was wonder if it would even fit in your mouth.

“.... Open your mouth.” He whispers.

You lick your lips and obey, just as desperate to taste him as he likely was to feel himself inside of you.

Kylo adjusts his grip on your hair and instantly brings your open mouth down upon his dick, immediately and mercilessly shoving you all the way down on his shaft. The size of his length instantly suffocates you and elicits an involuntary gag from your windpipe as a stream of hot precum jets down your throat, causing his body to quiver as your throat constricts around him.

A moan escapes Kylo as he pulls out slightly. “Hm…. yes…”

You groan against the length of his dick as he pulls out enough for you to feel his head rubbing against the back of your tongue before he tightens his grip and slams his dick back into you, forcing you to take his entire length again. Tears immediately well in your eyes at the sensation of Kylo’s wet dick stretching your throat out and pulling out again only to shove it back down. It twitches in your mouth for a second as his head releases another jet of precum.

Kylo moans again, his fingers pulling at your hair as he keeps your head down on his shaft. “That’s right, take the whole thing… ” He whispers between hitched breaths.

“Mmh...” You moan against the length of his dick, overwhelmed with the combination of shock and the twitching between your legs.

“You can come on this cock when you’ve earned it.” He answers your thoughts as he pulls out again.

You’re able to take a quick breath in at the relief of him pulling his dick away from your lips for a moment. He grips it, his large hands even seeming smaller as he holds the base of his massive shaft. He taps his head on your lips, allowing another stream of precum to leak onto your skin and using his head to smear it across your lips.

“What did I tell you to do?” He asks, panting and watching the string of precum drip from your lips as he rubs it back and forth.

“To… be on my best behavior.” You say through staggered breathing.

“And what did you do instead?”

“I… behaved poorly.”  
“And are you going to do that again?” He asks, continuing to wipe his juices across your lips.

You snicker, licking them off of your lips. “Probably.”

Without warning, Kylo shoves your mouth back down on his dick, pushing further than you thought possible, causing the walls of your throat to convulse in shock.

“Well then, I suppose I’ll have to fuck your face until you decide you won’t do it again.” Kylo says angrily as he pulls out slightly.

Keeping to his word, Kylo begins to pull his dick out and shove it back in repeatedly- vigorously. Grunts interrupt his panting as he speeds up, stretching your throat out as he begins to forcefully thrust his dick deeper and deeper into your mouth. His breathing continues to grow heavier and angrier until he sounds entirely feral, forcing your head up and down on his shaft as he claims your throat.

“Don’t you ever… fucking disobey me…. ever again.” He says in-between thrusts, not even leaving time for you to breathe.

You want to scream, to yell back at him from a place that must have been a combination of anger and lust. You feel your clit aching for him to touch you through the numb pain of your throat being stretched out on his length. Your mind floods with the darkest parts of your imagination as your tears well over and begin to stream down your cheeks, but all of your thoughts are overridden by the insurmountable desire for him to bend you over and split you in half on the dashboard of the silencer.

“You like it, don’t you… fucking slut…” He moans while you tighten your suction on his dick as he grows closer to orgasm. You can feel his hardness building in your mouth, desperately wishing it was elsewhere inside of you.

“Where…” You say against his dick, surprised you can even get a word out as you mumble. “...come?”

“I’m going to come in your mouth.” He warns as he picks up his pace, your hair now completely out of its bun and wadded up in his fist as he drives your head up and down on his dick mercilessly.

“N-no…” You wince against his length, fairly sure at this point that he had broken something in your throat at this point.

“Yes, I am.” He says definitively. “And you’re going to take… every drop…” Kylo moans, his back leaning against the chair of the cockpit, his head turning upwards to the ceiling as he thrusts into you. “.... of my hot cum.”

You want to scream against the force of his hard dick, but there’s no room to even be able to breathe. Your lungs begin to ache from the lack of oxygen and you start to see stars spark on the edges of your vision.

“Can’t breathe?” Kylo asks, regaining control of his own breathing as he watches you choke on him. “Perhaps you’ll consider this the next time you try to interrupt me at work with thoughts of spreading those pretty little legs and fucking the life out of you.”

You try to squeal against his rock-solid length, the sensation of briefly blacking out flashing across your vision as he continues to fuck the very back of your throat relentlessly.

“So I’ll ask you one last time….” Kylo stifles a moan as he continues to shove your face down. “Are you going to be on your best behavior?”

“Yes… sir!” You try to scream against his skin, muffled by the lack of room in your mouth.

“Much better.” Kylo whispers.

With one last readjustment around your tangled hair, Kylo shoves your face down on his pulsating dick as far as it will go. One loud moan escapes his mask as you feel a huge load of hot, salty cum shoot into your throat as he holds his throbbing inside of you, claiming your mouth. With his length, it’s practically already all the way down your throat by the time he’s completely emptied himself into you. Your mouth reflexively swallows around his skin even though you’re on the verge of blacking out.

“Hm,” He hums as you swallow his cum, “That’s it… what a good girl, take it...”

You’d never been so relieved and desperate for air as when he finally pulled you off of his length, gasping so deep that a stinging rings through your lungs while they fill with air at last. You collapse on the floor of the silencer in front of the pilot’s chair, your weak limbs useless under you as your cheek rests on the cool metal flooring. Stars dance through the edges of your vision while you quiver on the floor, trying to regain your balance, still unsure if you’re conscious or not.

After a few minutes, you finally hear Kylo keying up on the radio again. “Audio scans are clear.”

You put your shaky hands on either side of you and struggle to push yourself up to your hands and knees before feeling Kylo’s arms wrapping around your waist pulls you up to your feet. Your dizzy mind eventually catches up and your feet remember how to support your body.

You turn around to see Kylo fastening his pants and readjusting his robes as you catch

your breath.

“Well…” Kylo says once he’s back in order. “Are you going to do that again?”

For once, you’re not tempted to push him further. The soreness in your throat is quick to confirm that. “No, sir.”

“Good. Now, go sit back down and put your safety straps back on. We’re probably going to hit some turbulence while landing on Hoth.”

You obey and slowly walk back to your seat behind the cockpit to fasten yourself in, working on detangling your hair with your fingers once you’re secured.

Kylo sits back down and begins to descend the silencer down to Hoth, quiet for the rest of the ride into Hoth’s atmosphere like it had never happened.


	8. Hoth

Landing on Hoth was a nightmare, even considering Kylo’s piloting skills.

No intelligent life had inhabited Hoth since the old Rebel Alliance days. Echo Base originally lied not too far from where the activity had been tracked to, but since nobody had been on the base since the Galactic Empire had uncovered it back in the day, the snow layers remained thick and dense, making the task of landing by the now-covered base close to impossible.

Hux eventually called in maintenance ships to come clear a large majority of the snow by the base until its roof was visible. It would be astounding if any Resistance members were actually able to get past the snow and ice that had built up over the years into Echo Base, let alone to be able to establish a working base underneath it all without being visible from outdoors. But nonetheless, the maintenance ships arrived promptly and utilized compact explosives to cause the flank of the mountain avalanche, revealing the main entry port to the snowy underground base. 

Kylo lands the TIE silencer out in front of the main hangar, and Hux and Phasma begin to align the troopers to prepare for entry into the base. Kylo stands in the cockpit and adjusts his robes as you use the reflection of the archway panel to ensure you don’t look like you were just being forced down on Kylo’s dick for the entire journey down to Hoth.

“We’ll likely be here for a few days. I trust you won’t speak of this to anyone.” Kylo says as he prepares the landing ramp to extend.

“No- I’m not planning on divulging what just happened to anyone, ever, to be quite frank with you.” You answer while slipping on your First Order-distributed coat. “I trust you won’t be saying anything either?”

“Of course not.”

“Good.” You smile as you straighten your coat and stand behind Kylo. “Can’t have my fake reputation being damaged.”

You hear Kylo taking a deep breath, likely to attempt to tolerate your comment as the silencer’s doors open and you follow him out.

The air whips and bites at your cheeks through the icy blizzard that froths through the air. An engineer finally gets the Echo Base hangar door open to expose the long, grey hangar to the cold outside air. The stormtroopers stand ready to fire inside the hangar, but it appears to be completely vacant aside from one dusty X-Wing fighter that must have been left behind from when the Rebel Alliance fled the base. 

“Echo Teams one through four,” Phasma announces, “Initiate clearing.”

The stormtroopers all enter the hangar and start clearing the base, blasters at hand, and you follow the last group with Kylo to clear the east side of the building. Working with a blaster made your blood boil, considering you could easily maneuver with your saber with an efficiency a blaster could never give you, but there was no chance Kylo would even consider giving it back to you- especially in this setting.

The hangar splits off into wings with snowy, man-made hallways that stem further into the mountains. You shiver underneath your coat as you adjust to the temperature change of the freezer-like conditions of Hoth compared to the brisk but controlled atmosphere from the Finalizer.

The team clears the east side of the base, consisting of the staff quarters and the rest of the entry hangar. The whole base is completely vacant- even the air feels lifeless and eerie. A thin layer of dust sits on top of most objects, and the hallways and floors that must have been made of snow back in the day are now frozen solid, causing the stormtroopers to slip and stumble every now and then whenever they step off of the rubber mats that lie in the middle of the hallways.

“East sector clear.” You announce in your radio as you wave the stormtroopers back through to the hangar to assist the other sectors.

“They were never here.” Kylo resolves, clearly upset as you follow him back into the hangar. He runs a gloved finger across the side of the old X-Wing Fighter to collect dust and examines it. 

“Nobody has been here since the Rebel Alliance fled from the Empire.”

“It appears not.” You say as you examine a desk blanketed in dust and pick up an old Rebel Alliance patch. “Seems completely untouched.”

Suddenly, the room is alight with sparks and red flashes behind you, and the sound of tearing metal begins to screech through the air, causing you to jump as it pierces your senses.

You turn around to see Kylo angrily enviscorating the X-Wing fighter with his saber, slicing the wings to pieces and grunting as he tears the metal on the hood of it apart in his fury. He takes his anger out on it for what feels like forever as you stand and watch, eventually growing bored and leaning against the edge of the desk until the ship is a pile of smoking rubble. Kylo pants as he hunches over the pile, his hands balled into fists as he deactivates his saber.

You allow him to sit in silence for a few moments before you speak. “You finished?”

Kylo takes a single, deep breath and adjusts his collar before turning back around to you. “Locate the source of where the activity was sensed. We will need to check it immediately.”

“All sectors have been cleared.” Phasma announces as she returns with the rest of the group.

“We need to check the source of the activity that was sensed immediately.” Kylo decides aloud, his tone agitated as he finishes catching his breath.

“Well, the sun is setting.” Hux argues immediately. “We can’t just send stormtroopers out into the snow, in the dark, with the blizzard that’s setting in. We must wait until tomorrow.”

“Do not attempt to contend with me, Hux.” Kylo snaps back, raising a finger accusingly. “You have delayed us enough. I will not allow the Resistance to escape us again.”

“I fear I agree with General Hux.” Captain Phasma interjects. “Our men won’t be able to find much at this time of day. Even if we do surface runs in our transports, the visibility will be extremely low given the current conditions. If the Resistance is even out there in this weather, they’re as good as dead anyways.”

Everyone turns to look at Kylo as he grips the hilt of his deactivated saber angrily.

“Fine. But we will deploy first thing in the morning. I want boots on the ground as soon as the sun comes up.”

Everyone works together to move as many TIE fighters as possible into both the main hangar and back hangar of the base. The stormtroopers retire in their deployment transport ships that stay parked outside, and the Command team and small selection of stormtroopers take up the few cabins inside Echo Base. You’re almost worried for a moment that you’ll need to bunk with Lieutenant Myra in one of the cabins, but end up finding enough rooms for you to be able to stay by yourself. To your relief, one of the stormtroopers is able to get the cabin generators running and you’re able to get to sleep in the warmth of your own cabin.

Everyone is awake before sunrise and greeted in the dining area by the kitchen staff sent down by the finalizer. The staff utilizes the old base kitchen and sets up breakfast along the countertops like they usually do back in the mess hall.

“This is depressing.” Dane comments as he joins you at one of the tables with two trays of morning cakes, sliding one to you.

You look around the room to see the lack of excitement that you’d usually see in mess hall, even on the Finalizer. Across the room, Hux sits with Phasma and Lieutenant Myra over their dishes, and on the other side of the room, the small collection of ten-or-so Commanding stormtroopers eat with their helmets off- something you don’t see often considering they usually eat in separate facilities from other Command staff. You notice one person is missing.

“You’re right- it is depressing.” You say. “Does Commander Ren not eat or something?”

“I doubt anyone’s ever seen Commander Ren do anything human-like. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the man was a droid underneath all of those robes. He never even takes the helmet off.”

You feel the corners of your mouth turn up slightly as you eat at the thought of all the things you had in fact seen him do, forcing yourself to keep a straight face as Dane continues to rattle on, your focus broken by flashbacks of the way Kylo’s grip felt on your skin. Your mind relaxes slightly at the thought of Kylo not being within hearing range, even though you had stopped blocking him from your thoughts lately.

“... so, hopefully we can find the Resistance today so we can go back to Starkiller base.” He says, looking down at his breakfast. You can’t help but notice Dane seems less than his usual perky self.

“Yeah, definitely…. Are you okay?”

“Hm?” He asks, looking up from his tray. “Oh. Yeah, I am, it’s just the morning cakes.”

“What about them?”

Dane sighs, his sights falling back down. “Eric likes morning cakes.”

You can’t stop a small smile from creeping up on you at the reminder that Dane’s happily married. “You miss him.”

“Very much.” He says, visibly trying to shake his despair off and starting to eat. “I’ll get to see him eventually.”

“I thought you got to see him when we got to Starkiller? He works there, right?”  
“It’s a big base. I hadn’t been granted any time to travel across to see him yet. I haven’t seen him in-person for about a year.” He explains, clearly trying to keep his tone positive but his eyes still glistening with an inexplicable sorrow. “I mean, we always chat over hologram, but it’s just not the same.”

“Yeah. It’s not.” Your mind flashes to images of your own family and memories of checking in with them over hologram in-between missions; something you hadn’t gotten the opportunity to do in a long time.

“I bet they can’t monitor old-fashioned transmitters. Maybe we should try to find one around here.” Dane jokes.

Your mind is alight with a bad idea. “You think they’ve got any around here?”

“Oh, I’m sure they do. But they’re probably ancient.” Dane says over a mouthful.

Yes, ancient. But all they would need is a bit of calibration and some power- from a certain cabin generator, perhaps?

“You’re right. That would be totally impossible.” You lie.

“Good morning.” A voice says from across the room.

You and Dane turn to see it belongs to Captain Phasma.

“The planet has been divided into primary sectors. One supervisor will be needed for each sector to be accompanied by their platoon of stormtroopers. It seems the storm has calmed down, but there are enough TIE fighters for each supervisor and field sergeant. We need one supervisor to stay behind with the base.”

“I can.” You say immediately at the opportunity. “I believe I’m still on medical exemption anyways, so I don’t mind staying here.”

“Very well. Atwell will stay behind with the base and with a small platoon to guard the area. We will also need you to monitor for any new activity.”

“Understood.” You say, trying to contain your excitement for the opportunity to snoop around the base.

Within the hour, the base had cleared out aside from the stormtroopers that guard the hangar and outside of the hangar’s port.

You start in your own quarters, beginning with checking under your cot and in the drawers and storage areas throughout the room. Most of the drawers are empty with the exception of a few patches and an orange pilot’s uniform that you’re tempted to try on out of boredom. You then move to the other Command quarters throughout the east side of the base, careful not to touch anyone’s belongings in your search. You’re out of luck after searching almost all of the quarters and finding nothing interesting aside from a picture of a cat sitting beside Hux’s bedside and a ridiculous amount of snacks hidden underneath Dane’s cot. This leaves you with one last room to check, one you were hoping to avoid all together.

As you step into Kylo’s quarters, you feel a shiver down your spine at the thought of being caught. You were certain that Kylo was gone with the others, and would hear someone coming from their steps squishing on the mats in the hallway, but knew you would need to be extremely careful to touch as little as possible for the fear that he would be able to sense that you’d been in his quarters long from now.

Kylo’s belongings are dismal, practically nonexistent. You didn’t expect much, but you’d expected to see more than a simple stack of neatly-folded robes underneath his bed to make up what he had brought to Hoth. You figured he had brought your saber with you, but weren’t surprised that he wouldn’t leave it behind in a room you had access to, considering he likely kept the saber on him.

The dust on top of the storage container across from his cot remains untouched, alerting you that you couldn’t leave any fingerprints. You carefully tug at the handles on each drawer, pulling them open just enough to peek inside and confirm they’re empty. Though you knew you were safe, something about being in Kylo’s quarters without him knowing made your heart beat quicker than usual.

To your dismay, the first two drawers are empty, depleting your optimism as you bend down to pull the bottom drawer open. The third drawer opens to reveal a metal box dated back to when the Rebel Alliance inhabited the base. You inch the drawer open a bit more, enough to lift the box out of the drawer and examine it.

It seems to be the kind of box one stores jewelry inside, crammed with belongings and covered in a thin film of dust. The outline from the box in the bottom of the drawer gives your removal away, so you shut the drawer and hope he won’t check it when he returns.

You bring the box back to your quarters behind locked doors and sit on your bed cross-legged while you try to pry the box open. A layer of dust exudes from the box as the lid finally budges, revealing a cluttered inside stuffed-full with miscellaneous belongings. Patches, expired food, and a booklet sit on the top of the box. You open the booklet and immediately inhale in surprise at its contents.

The booklet appears to be a photograph album of some kind, chock-full with photographs of the Rebel Alliance staged in Echo base.

The album is practically endless, filled with page after page of small photographs of Alliance members working around the base, eating together, and embracing each other as they returned from missions. Each photo has a message written about it underneath, detailing who the photo is of and what they’re doing. You examine each page in wonder, marveling at everyone’s outfits and the old ships for several minutes before you remember what you’re really looking for. You take the album and stuff it into your satchel of belongings to look at later and continue to dig through the box.

And you’d never been so excited to see something as you are when you see the green, metallic edge of an old-fashioned transmitter gleaming underneath the expired food in the bottom of the box.

“Yes!” You whisper to yourself, removing the transmitter from the box and holding it to your chest in appreciation. You examine the transmitter in your hand, turning it over until you’re able to locate a power button. “Please, please tell me you’ve still got some juice.”

The screen flickers for a moment before blacking out entirely, then lights up.

You hide a squeal as you scan through it, trying to navigate the practically-archaic piece of technology. It doesn’t take long for you to locate the transmission screen and you sync your current zone with the familiar code you’d had memorized for several years, excitement growing in your heart.

“Come on, come on, come on….” You whisper to yourself as the signal begins to transmit via the blinking light on top of the transmitter, the sound of your heartbeat pounding in your ears in anticipation loud enough to fill the room.

The light suddenly changes to green, and the screen displays “Connecting”.

You gasp, feeling tears well up in your eyes. Lairae’s face suddenly appears on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Lair-.... Mother.” You say as one of the tears escapes your eye and runs down your cheek.

Lairae breathes your name and gasps, a smile lighting her face up.

“You’re alive!” She exclaims.

“I’m alive.” You parrot, shocked even by your own words. “I’m here, I’m okay.”

“Where are you?” She asks, examining the environment behind you.

“I’m on Hoth- I don’t have much time.” You say quickly. “I found this old transmitter, and I don’t know how much battery I’ve got left.”

“What’s going on?” She asks, her expression serious as she brushes one of her dark curls behind her ear.

“I…” You say, allowing your cold exterior to break as more tears begin to roll down your cheeks. “I’m just so happy to see you…”

“I’m so relieved to see you, too.” Lairae says, her eyes seeming to begin to water as well. “Do you want to see him?”

“No, no-” You say abruptly, wiping the tears from your eyes. “I don’t know who could have access to this. I don’t want anyone to see his face.”

“Okay…” She nods, her eyes suddenly shifting as she looks down to your collar. Her expression falls grave. “What are you wearing?”

You remember what you’re wearing and where you are, instinctually bringing your hand to adjust your coat. “Oh… it’s for my mission.”

“Are you working with the First Order?” The shock is evident in her voice, reminding you of the horrifying things you and Lairae had seen the First Order do in the past.

“Yes and no.” You answer honestly, immediately feeling a pang of guilt in your heart. “I can’t explain- it’s complicated. But all you need to know is that I’m safe for now. I’m going to be on this job a bit longer than I thought. Are you able to continue to care for him a little while longer?”

“Of course.” She answers, clearly trying to mentally put the pieces together. “Do they know you’re calling?”

“No, I’m using an old transmitter. The new ones won’t be able to pick the signal up.” You explain. “Is he… okay?”

Lairae turns away from the transmitter to look at someone. “Yes… he misses you.”

“I… I miss him too. Please tell him that. And tell him I love him.” You say, fighting the tears beginning to well up in your eyes again.

“I will. We love you.”

“I love-” Your words are cut off by the screen turning completely black.

You lean back on your cot in shock, still disbelieving that you were finally able to check in with home. It was rare that you ever let yourself feel anything- bounty hunting had always been a particularly-harsh profession and you were used to keeping your walls up emotionally- but it was different with your family. They were all you had left in your father’s memory.

“Sergeant?” A stormtrooper’s voice echoes from down the hall.

You scramble to your feet and shove the transmitter into the satchel you had brought from the Finalizer. “Coming!”

You quickly wipe your eyes and rush to get back into the hangar where one of the stormtroopers waits for you holding a First Order transmitter. The transmitter displays mid-conversation between each of the Command leaders and one of the Lieutenants back on the Finalizer.

“We’ve received a notification of activity on Hoth, Commander.” The Sergeant says to Kylo on the hologram. “It’s coming from within your sector.”

“What kind of activity?” Kylo asks from the silencer.

“It appears to be some sort of electronic acknowledgement, sir.” The Sergeant explains. “Just south of your current location.”

“I’ve raked this entire valley and there’s nothing here.” Kylo says, clearly aggravated.

“Perhaps they’re underground.” You suggest, yet you struggle to fathom the Resistance being able to penetrate the icy layers of Hoth to be able to build a base in the first place, let alone with their limited resources.

“That’s impossible.” Hux says from the other line. “That would take years to construct, and there’s no way the Resistance would have access to those kinds of resources. I want to see the activation.”

Hux arrives back to Echo Base in a matter of minutes, landing in the front hangar and hustling towards you as you pull up the transmission tracking information on your datapad.

“It appears to have come from right where Commander Ren is currently surveying, sir.” A stormtrooper says, pointing it out in the large open area that Kylo is covering.

“It’s some kind of acknowledgement to another transmission.” Hux’s brows furrow in confusion as he zooms in on the area, only seeing what appears to be a large, open valley of snow.

“Can I see it?” You ask as Hux obliges and hands you the datapad.

You change some settings on the datapad and divide it into layers, a trick you learned in hunting for bounties on planets with a variety of biomes to narrow down which planetary layer the bounty could have been hiding in.

“This valley seems to be much deeper than it appears…” You mumble to yourself, continuing to try to figure out what you’re looking at. “It’s got a lot more depth than the surrounding areas, but it looks like the satellites we’re using can’t penetrate the snow deep enough to see what we’re looking at.”

Hux’s head tilts in confusion, the dim light of the hangar shining on the peaks of his red hair.

“Look.” You instruct, hesitantly taking a step closer to Hux to show him the layout of the valley. “The area surrounding the valley isn’t very complex. It probably just consists of the snow on top of the ground it covers. But the mountains- they’re large, and look like they’re probably composed of several layers of snow, ice, rock… so they appear deeper. This valley seems to be much deeper, kind of like the depth of a mountain, which is odd considering it should just be the snow on top of the ground. See?”

“Something’s underneath the snow.” Hux figures aloud.

“Possibly.” Duh.

“Come with me. Board a TIE fighter and bring the datapad.”

You find the closest TIE fighter and start it up, waiting on Hux’s command to exit the hangar.

You drift out into the icy snowstorm that flurries throughout the cold air of Hoth, shivering at its sight alone and finding yourself missing the feeling of the hot sun of Tatooine on the back of your neck as opposed to the layers of ice and snow that separate the world from Hoth’s true surface underneath you. Tiny shards of ice ping against the glass of your TIE fighter as you glide through the flurry that fills the air. As your eyes adjust, everything gradually blends into a blanket of white, each of Hoth’s features indiscernible to your vision as you follow Hux into the winds.

“This is the edge of the valley depicted in the acknowledgement.” Hux says over the radio.

The blizzard shakes the TIE fighter slightly as you move it deeper into the valley while watching the datapad. You carefully observe the alert moving closer and closer to you, until the data pad begins to beep rapidly, indicating it’s right underneath you.

“Commander Ren was right, there’s nothing here.” You say on the radio while examining the plot’s layers on your screen. “But the datapad is as clear as it can be- this is our location.”

“Perhaps it’s a delayed response and whoever was here is gone.” Hux suggests angrily. “We must have missed them again.”

“I doubt it. This is a stationary alert; whatever triggered the activation is still here, right underneath us.” You contest while re-running the transmission settings.

“What could possibly be-”

“Wait...” You cut Hux off, trying to focus. “What if it’s a body of water?”

“Anything down there would be long-frozen by now.”

“Well, the underside of a digitally-impenetrable slab of snow and ice would be a perfect place to hide a Resistance base, wouldn’t it?” You ask, mentally questioning Hux’s capability as a leader for the First Order if he can’t understand how this would be an undeniable advantage to the Resistance if they were able to get underground.

Hux doesn’t respond for a moment, only showing as transmitting on the radio but not saying anything, possibly in thought.

“Good point.” He finally admits. “Let’s return to the base- we’re going to find out what’s underneath us.”

Turns out, your hunch ended up being right, to no surprise to you.

Hux eventually called down the First Order’s extraction team and they set up a command post in the middle of the valley to begin their attempts at penetrating the thick layer of ice. The other groups under Lieutenant Myra, Dane, and Phasma continued to check the rest of the planet twice, three, and even four times over during the extraction team’s efforts. It doesn’t take long for them to melt a hole large enough to create a pit in the snow and locate one last thick layer of ice that covers a massive body of water underneath.

Once the ice had been penetrated, Kylo and Hux coordinated the reception of the sub-aquatic vessels and deployed them into the water. The search of whatever had sent the electronic acknowledgement moved quickly, considering the sunlight doesn’t touch the water in any other place aside from the pit the team had just melted into its surface. From what the extraction team had disclosed, there didn’t seem to be any sign of life underneath the water- not even a single plant takes up residence on the dark floor of the water’s basin, deep down below the ice’s surface.

“We ran a chemical test on the water sample you sent us, Sergeant Atwell.” The sergeant on the Finalizer transmits to you later in the afternoon as you assist with the coordination efforts at the command post. “The sample comes back with properties similar to ocean water, particularly such as the ocean waters on Kashyyyk or Corellia.”

“An ocean.” You figure aloud, feeling a growing stress build inside of you at the thought of the team having to clear an entire ocean on a planet as massive as Hoth. “Understood. Thank you.”

Your uniform boots crunch in the snow as you cross the command post in search of Hux to relay your findings, hoping to avoid Kylo and the likely state of aggression that the idea of having to clear an ocean will catapult him into if he’s the one you need to notify. The blizzard had cleared up over the last few hours, taking an obvious edge off of Hux and allowing him to return to his normal, vexed expression as the team worked through the sunset.

“General Hux.” You capture his attention as you approach him, with Kylo nowhere to be seen. “We’ve received the sample back from the Finalizer. The body of water we’re standing on top of is an ocean.”

Hux’s expression falls in a combination of what you assume to be either stress or disappointment, and he closes his eyes in thought for an instant before speaking.

“Knowing Commander Ren, he will likely want the entire ocean scoured.” He says sourly as he rolls his eyes, moving his gaze from you back to his own datapad to continue working. “Notify Commander Ren. Perhaps publicly.”

“Great.” You remark, dreading the thought of Kylo hearing the news and deciding to make you his personal punching bag. “Well, it was nice knowing you.”

“I beg your pardon?” Hux asks, his attention being very quickly torn from his datapad.

“I-... nevermind, my apologies. Right away, sir.” You stammer before abruptly leaving to find Kylo.

Kylo is nowhere to be found throughout the command post, so you resort to checking his TIE silencer, parked on the command post’s edge. As your heels click on the metal ramp upon your entry, your heart begins to incessantly pound against your chest at the memories of what you’d experienced aboard the ship.

“Hello?” You ask as you step inside, peering around towards the cockpit. “Ky- Commander Ren?”  
The silencer’s interior is quiet, the air crisp and dead. You take a few steps forward into the cockpit, staring out of the window down at the tinted-red snow through the crimson glass and using the heightened area to scan the command post for Kylo. There seems to be no sight of him, considering his black robes and towering figure would stand out amongst the stormtroopers if he were there. As you turn around to exit down the ramp, a glimmer catches your eye from the underside of the cockpit’s control panel. You turn back out of curiosity, stepping forward and bending down to take a closer look.

The underside of the control panel is dark, but the outside brightness reflecting off of the snow causes something metal to stand out amongst the darkness in a compartment underneath the panel- it’s a silver, metallic hilt.

Your heart jumps in excitement at the sight of it, reminding you to keep your thoughts controlled in case Kylo is around. You instinctively reach out to grasp it, freezing mid-motion at the thought that Kylo would notice if it were missing. But you don’t retreat- your gaze moves elsewhere.

A scroll sits in the canister, its printed wording facing outwards, with large letters spelling “Tatooine” facing outwards.

You grasp the scroll, standing up straight to unroll it in the light.

It’s a list of planets- you recognized most of their names from jobs you’d done for the Guild- listed in random order. It seems to have the planetary names inscribed on both sides, but what stands out are the bold, thick lines etched across some of the planets’ names. Most of the planets like Anoat, Naboo, and Mustafar are crossed out with penmanship that you would almost call angry, but what sends a pit to your stomach is that only a few planets remain without being crossed-off; Cantonica, Mandalore, and a few other planets ending with Tatooine at the bottom of the list.

There’s no way this was a list narrowing-down the Resistance. You’d seen nearly all of the Resistance tracking documentation and all of it was digitized, and the planets seemed to be disorganized and crossed-off in no particular order. You can’t help but be sparked with curiosity and wonder what kind of list this was, along with what Tatooine could have to do with it. Your thoughts automatically flicker to your family back at home, sending a grave feeling throughout your body.

The scroll rolls smoothly as you wrap it back up as it had been and bend down to place it back in the compartment, your eyes lingering on your saber for another moment as you begin to ponder where you would hide it if you grabbed it.

The hairs on the back of your neck stick up quickly, but not quick enough.

“What are you doing in here?” A mechanical voice says from behind you.

You jump slightly as you whip around, leaning back and bracing your hands on the control panel. “I- nothing.”

Kylo steps forward, meer feet separating you as stares down at you in an almost-accusatory manner.

“I was looking for you.” You say to fill the silence before he can find out what you were truly thinking.

His head cocks slightly, radiating disbelief. His gaze flickers down to the compartment your saber sits in.

“Before you try to invade my thoughts,” You say defensively, “Hux did tell me to come find you. We received a response on the water sample.”

“... and?”

“The water’s properties are similar to that of an ocean. So… we have a lot of searching to do.” As you speak, you watch Kylo’s posture carefully and grip the edge of the control panel behind you, unsure if you should brace yourself for Kylo to take his anger out on you as he’d done so many times to other staff members on the bridge of the Finalizer.

Kylo’s head drops slightly, his emotions unreadable behind his mask. His shoulders rise and fall as if he’s taking deep breaths; you hadn’t expected for him to seem like he actually wanted to breathe through his anger and try to control it.

You especially didn’t expect him to close the distance between you.

In a matter of one long stride- perhaps two- until Kylo’s tall frame was towering over you, close enough for his dark scent to grace your nose. You shrink backwards against the control panel, finding yourself leaning against its buttons. You certainly would never consider yourself afraid of any man, considering the size of the ones you were easily able to take down in the past, but his close proximity to you took your breath away and you found yourself holding your air in your lungs. If you were to inhale any further, your chest would press against his; but your body is frozen, your eyes wide.

Kylo’s stare is intense, even through the mask as he looks down at you. You wonder what he could be thinking and muse on if he feels the electricity in the air, too. 

He stands in front of you for what feels like forever before his helmet begins to get closer to you. It's not because he’s leaning in to you, but you realize he’s bending down slowly. You continue to hold your breath, the pressure of your heartbeat radiating throughout your body in anticipation.

Kylo continues to bend down until he can reach underneath the control panel, stretching back to grasp your saber. He stands back up, keeping his stare focused on you as he secures it on his belt.

You allow your breath to escape you as he takes a step back, his gaze scanning you briefly before he turns to approach the ramp leading back out to the cold snow and feeling your anticipation flush from your body. You can’t tell if it’s from relief that he didn’t take his anger out on you, or if in disappointment at the fleeting thought that he was going to get closer to you for other reasons.

“We have an audience.” Kylo answers your thoughts, back at you slightly on his way down the ramp. “Control your thoughts.”

You take a deep breath as you look back out the window of the silencer down to the stormtroopers who stand easily close enough to see inside the silencer, focusing on how the cold air feels going in and out of your lungs to calm yourself before following Kylo outside.

At this point, you had nothing to lose by allowing your thoughts to wander as your boots touch the snow; the sensation of your senses spiking at the way his body felt when it was that close to yours would’ve easily overpowered any apprehension of someone seeing you if he had decided to take things another route just now.

“... good to know.” Kylo remarks over his shoulder as the two of you approach the group.

Blood rushes to your cheeks in astonishment.

“Commander Ren.” Hux’s voice echoes as he approaches the two of you, the sound of the whipping winds and the crunching of the snow under everyone’s feet nearly overpowering his volume, or lack thereof. “I assume you have been briefed on the aquatic discovery?”

“Affirmative.” Kylo says. “It seems we will be needing more sub-aquatic vessels if we are to locate the source of the acknowledgement before it’s too late.”

“Yes. I’ve already hailed the Finalizer and made the necessary notifications. The remainder of the sub-aquatic vessels we need should be here first thing tomorrow morning. We are anticipating another blizzard tonight, worse than last evening. Getting them here tonight is not a possibility.”

“I want that acknowledgement researched again.” Kylo says. “Find out what kind of message was sent in the first place that was acknowledged.”

“I’ll notify the Finalizer.” You offer, pulling out your datapad.

“Tell the troops to cover the pit and suspend the search until tomorrow morning.” Kylo orders. “We don’t have time to lose any sub-aquatic vessels overnight with the blizzard. Rally everyone back at Echo Base.”

You nod and begin sending your request to the Finalizer before assisting in breaking the command post down, relieved to get out of the snow and head back to the base.

“How was it?” Dane asks over supper as he practically inhales his food, his mood clearly improved from this morning. “I heard it’s an ocean?!”

“You heard correct.” You answer, finally feeling your exhaustion from today setting in. “Command’s not happy about that one. It’s going to take forever to search an entire ocean, even if there’s no life below the waters.”

“I wonder if they’ll send everyone back to Starkiller and just keep the team here. If that’s the only activity here, then the rest of us are just going to end up sitting around.”

“I don’t know. I submitted a request to have the initiating message investigated further so we could see who was trying to connect with whoever acknowledged it in the first place. Until we hear about that, I assume we search.” To the dismay of literally everyone.

“Speaking of…” Dane says, a smile growing on his lips for the first time since you’d arrived. “I know this isn’t what we were searching for, but guess what I saw?”

“Hm?”

“A whole pack of tauntauns.”

“Really?” You ask, still not sure what a tauntaun even looks like. “How many?”

“There had to be at least thirty. I’m surprised they aren’t more populated here, but they do have a predator.”

“I don’t even want to know what kind of predatory species would be able to thrive on a planet like this in conditions like what’s going on outside now.” You say in-between bites.

“Oh, they’re called ‘wampas’, and they’re-”

“Atwell.” You hear a deep voice approaching you from behind, and judging by Dane’s reaction to whoever it was, you didn’t need to turn around to know who was standing behind you.

“Yes, Commander?” You ask, taking a bite of what’s left of your supper.

“I want you to notify me immediately when you have received the update on the  
message from the Finalizer.” Kylo orders as you turn to look at him.

“What if you’re sleeping?” You ask, quickly realizing you shouldn’t be so casual with the way you speak to Kylo in front of Dane. Or at all, for the matter, judging by the things he had done to your body up to this point from rolling your eyes alone.

“I said- notify me immediately. I won’t be sleeping.”

“Understood.” You say, trying to keep your mind off of the unnerving idea of approaching Kylo’s quarters in the middle of the night.

“That being said, you should retire.” Kylo suggests.

Excuse me?! You should retire.- You think, raising a brow. “I’m sorry?”

“Tomorrow will be another long day. I need my Command Post staff on high-alert for our search. Go.”

You peer up at him in confusion, tempted to talk back at him in front of Dane, but unsure of how far he would go with correcting your behavior while in public.

“Okay… goodnight, Lieutenant Dane. Commander Ren.” You bite your tongue and nod to Dane who clearly tries to keep his composure as he watches you stand to leave the table.

You roll your eyes the moment you’re out of the cafeteria’s sights, feeling Kylo’s eyes on your backside as you walk down the hallway to your quarters.

What, now he was even going to control when you slept? How the hell would it even benefit him to decide when you sleep. Is he going to start deciding when you eat too?

“Fucking control freak.” You mumble under your breath as you approach the door to your quarters.

You instantly regret speaking as a pressure begins to grow in your head, making you freeze in front of your door. You stand in-place, aggravated with yourself that you hadn’t heard Kylo’s heavy footsteps following behind you.

“What was that?” Kylo’s whisper rings behind you as he releases his hold on you.

“Would you stop sneaking up on me like that?” You ask, turning to see Kylo staring down at you again. “It’s getting old.”

“Is it?” He asks.

“I don’t like it.” You say with a frown, crossing your arms.

“You don’t like someone else being in control.” He corrects you aloud. “Which is ironic, considering that your physical responses are stronger when I take control.”

“I don’t particularly appreciate being talked-down to or told what to do.”

“Hm… yes you do.”

Your heart skips a beat as he speaks. “Why do I need to retire early? You’re not making Hux retire early. That seems sexist- what, my fragile woman brain needs rest?”

Kylo’s head tilts as he pierces your skull with his stare. 

“Tonight, I want you to touch yourself.” He orders abruptly, his voice dark and commanding.

A scoff escapes your lips and your jaw drops slightly. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said…” Kylo steps forward. He brings his hand up to your throat and abruptly presses you back against the closed door to your quarters, his other arm pressed up against the wall behind you. “I want you… to touch yourself tonight.”

You feel your heartbeat in your throat, an excitement building between your legs.

“And why would I do that?” You ask, his mask hardly a foot from your face.

“Because I ordered you to.” Kylo says, his voice soft. “And your job is to follow orders.”

“And what will happen if I don’t?” You ask.

“I think you know very well what will happen if you disobey my orders.” He warns.

You smirk, enjoying the way his gloved fingers feel wrapped around the tender skin of  
your neck. You allow your eyes to scan his torso and move below his belt. “Well, you know what they say. If you want something right, you have to do it yourself.”

“Don’t test me.” He warns. “Follow orders, and perhaps you’ll earn that one day. Do whatever you need to do to prepare for bed, then… go take care of that.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” You say, your voice low as you peer through your lashes at him.

Kylo’s hand shakes slightly as he tightens his grip on your skin before releasing it. He takes off down the hall to his quarters without another word, leaving you alone in the quiet hallway.

You turn slowly to open the door to your quarters and slip off your heavy coat, breathless from the interaction, and can’t stop a smile from tugging at the corners of your lips at the thought of the power you would have tonight. You could either bring yourself to orgasm, which wasn’t too much of a challenge, or you could mess with his head like you had in the shower on Kashyyyk. One thing was clear- he sent you to bed early in order to reserve plenty of time for you to pleasure yourself, and he wanted to use your mind to watch.

The fact that any of this was even happening was unreal, but you didn’t much care- if you were going to be stuck here, working for the First Order against your will, then you would at least do what you pleased. You decide to take the long way to the restrooms that are inconveniently situated across the base, hoping to avoid passing the cafeteria on your way. The base crew was finally able to get the hot water working, and you are able to take a long shower, both out of relaxation and the desire to make him wait.

If you hadn’t been “ordered” to do anything, you would normally pass out within minutes. But when you get back to your quarters, you begin to feel a nervousness that you hadn’t experienced before. You’d been on your ventures, lived your life to the fullest, and done whatever you’d desired in-between bounties, but for some reason, something felt different when you thought of what Kylo wanted you to do. The unpredictability of his behavior certainly attributed to your anticipation, but you’d never touched yourself in front of someone before, and certainly not because they’d ever asked- or ordered- you to do so.

You change into your normal sleepwear, not interested in trying to look appealing at all considering Kylo wouldn’t even physically be in the room, and get underneath your covers in your cot. You lie on your back, staring up at the roof of your quarters and listening to the sound of your own heartbeat.

“So…” You say aloud in the silence awkwardly. “What am I supposed to…”

You trail off, unsure of how Kylo expects this to work. It wasn’t every day that someone would tune in to your “private” time, and you felt almost ridiculous even thinking about the aspect.

You decide to close your eyes and try to focus. Typically, you’d think back to your previous sexual ventures, preferably the enjoyable ones, or create some kind of fantasy in your mind. But you’d be lying to yourself if you said that the best sex you’d had even compared to the kind of things you’d allowed to cross your mind about doing with Kylo over the last few days. These kinds of thoughts you’d kept to yourself, both out of an embarrassment you were unfamiliar with knowing Kylo could hear you, and out of guilt of knowing these thoughts were about the most feared man in the galaxy.

With a deep breath, you try to imagine your most recent “interaction” with Kylo and think back to the way his grip on the back of your neck sent an electric shiver down your spine as he had ordered you to take his pants off. You instinctively bite your lip at the thought and swallow your saliva, remembering the way he tasted. You try to keep your breathing calm as you reach underneath the covers to hook your fingers on the edges of your underwear, awkwardly pausing just as you’re beginning to slide them over your hips.

Why do I feel so ridiculous?- You think to yourself, thinking of putting them back on and going to bed.

As if you’d called out his name, you begin to feel Kylo’s presence as if he’s in the room.

A soft, buzzing feeling radiates in your head. It’s calm and you could even call it encouraging, very different from the usual probing, invasive feeling you get when he tries to get inside your thoughts. You’re certain that it’s because this time you’ve actually kept an open mind, but there’s more to it than when he simply tries to read what you’re thinking. The feeling is reminiscent of when you were on Kashyyyk in the shower- the feeling tempts you to keep going.

You jump slightly at the feeling of invisible hands wrapping around yours and softly pressing downwards. You feel a fluttering in your stomach as you follow the pressure, slowly sliding your panties over your hips and down your thighs, and shake your legs loose once you’d used your feet to kick them off underneath the covers. The warm feeling continues to buzz in your mind, comforting you as the pressure moves back up to your hands. The pressure guides them up to your chest, reaching up underneath your shirt towards your breasts. But instead of continuing upwards to caress the skin of your breast as you’d expected it to, the pressure disappears for a moment.

You briefly open your eyes, still in disbelief that any of this is possible, to see your quarters are still empty. 

The pressure quickly returns, this time to your inner thighs, pushing them apart.

You close your eyes again, a faint gasp escaping your lips as you imagine the invisible hands belonging to Kylo, the tingling feeling of desire returning between your legs. A soft, fabric-like feeling caresses your exposed skin, as if someone were positioned between your legs. The invisible hands trail on your wrists, almost as if someone were gripping them for a moment before your dominant hand is slowly guided downwards.

You knew where he wanted you to go.

You follow the guidance down between your legs until the pressure stops just above your clit, releasing you- he wants you to want it for yourself.

The thought alone of Kylo wanting to see you, to feel you touching yourself drives your imagination wild. You find your clit as Kylo so easily had so easily in the interrogation room back on Starkiller and begin to trail your fingers along it, thinking back to when he had used your techniques against you. But instead, you create your own fantasy about what you wished he had done instead of leaving you without your orgasm. 

You picture him driving his fingers into you as he had- but instead, you imagine him unbuckling his belt and taking out his dick. Back then, he’d already used the force to press your legs up before tearing your bodysuit open- all he would have to do is step forward and slide his dick between your legs before shoving it inside of the wetness he had already created. You could only imagine how his size would feel against your walls.

You continue to touch yourself through the thought of him ravaging you mercilessly against the restraints of the interrogation surface, grunting and having his way with you with no regard for the way your lower back would slam against the interrogation surface that would’ve been slick with sweat. You imagined someone would probably have heard you from outside, but you would’ve continued moaning through his deep strokes without a care in the world. And you would have gladly allowed him to finish inside of you- or all over you, it didn’t matter much as long as you finished together.

Your thoughts are cut short just as they’re getting interesting, the overwhelming feeling of the force against your wrists making you jump.

The force grasps your wrists and pushes them upwards, and you follow the pressure as it secures your arms above your head. You imagine Kylo pinning your hands down, feeling your chest rising and falling as your breathing accelerates. For an instant, you feel nothing, just the pressure on your wrists and the growing pleasure inside of you.Your frustration builds at the need to be touched, but no relief being found.

Suddenly, you feel a hard pressure rubbing up against your clit- it slides up and down along your skin, but it doesn’t feel like fingers- it’s much larger. Your breathing hitches when you realize what Kylo’s doing from rooms away; it’s as if he were rubbing the tip of his dick against your now-wet skin like he’s preparing to fuck you.

Is he going to force-fuck me from a seperate room?- You think to yourself, partially out of excitement at the sensation you’d never felt before, but the other side of you frustrated, wondering why he doesn’t just come inside and do it in person at this point. But you’re not one to beg- you keep your eyes closed to help you visualize Kylo physically being in your quarters, preparing to claim you as his. The thought of Kylo’s shaft rubbing up and down on your clit builds the pleasure between your legs, causing your lower torso to quiver slightly and catching your shallow breaths in your throat.

The projection of Kylo’s dick moves slowly down towards the bottom of your clit, stopping right in the perfect position to enter you.

You curse under your breath, feeling your back arch. “Yes… fuck… do it.”

The pressure pushes forward slightly, sending a chill down your spine at the replicated feeling of Kylo beginning to push his head in.

Out of nowhere, an incessant buzzing begins to ring through the air, breaking your focus. It’s not the buzzing from your mind being imposed upon, but the kind that you usually hear from your datapad when you’re receiving an urgent page.

The steady building in between your legs is cut short, eliciting an aggravated groan from the depths of your lungs. You shake yourself free of the pressure and use your elbows to prop yourself up to peer into the darkness at your datapad, seeing the bright light in the corner flashing to indicate that you have an unread message.

“What the hell could be so important that-”

You immediately stop complaining at the sight of the message’s subject: “Transmission Results”.

You gasp and quickly jump to your feet, beelining for your uniform folded neatly at the end of your bed. You rush to put it on, starting with the pants and buttoning your top up as quickly as possible. You grasp your coat and take it with you, lazily tossing your hair up into a quick bun on your way out the door with your datapad tucked under your arm.

Kylo is already walking briskly towards your quarters by the time you’ve stepped outside, his shoulders rising and falling as if he’d just been sprinting- though you knew he hadn’t. You keep your eyes up, not wanting to know if he was hard and disappoint yourself at the thought of what was just interrupted.

“The results, they’re back. They’re being sent to the transmission panel in the hangar.” You say as you slide your jacket over your shoulders, brushing by Kylo to rush towards the hangar.

The rubber mats lining the floors of Echo Base squish underneath your boots as the two of you hasten across the base, and in the silence his presence reminds you what you were doing just moments ago, feeling the blood rush to your cheeks.

“So, that was interesting.” You comment, not turning around to look at Kylo.

“What was interesting?” He asks as if it never had happened.

“You know what I’m talking about…” You say quietly, keeping your voice down as you approach the empty hangar. “I didn’t know you could do... that.”  
“Are you underestimating your Commander?”

“No, sir.” You answer. “I just… didn’t think it was going to go that way.”

“You need not concern yourself with where things could or could not go.” Kylo says, his helmeted voice as mechanical as ever. “All you need to worry about is following orders.”

You ignore his comment as you step into the hangar, seeing the makeshift transmission panel blinking across the room. After weaving in and out of the TIE fighters stationed in the hangar, you’re finally able to approach the panel and activate the message.

“It looks like the transmission we located was an electronic acknowledgement, which we already know.” You say as you examine the results down on the panel.

“Yes, yes, we know.” Kylo says impatiently. “What were they acknowledging?”

You pause, resisting the urge to roll your eyes again. Sexual tension was one thing, but you could really visualize yourself smacking the hell out of him. “I’m checking- right now.” You continue to dig through the information, looking for the transmission itself. “It appears that whatever’s in the ocean and had acknowledged the transmission is equipped with a really, really old piece of equipment. We don’t even have a description of the model in our system.”

“The Resistance could be using old equipment in an attempt to confuse our technology.” Kylo states.

“Maybe… let me try to pull up the information on the equipment that sent the original transmission in the first place.” You mumble as you scroll further through the reception information to the original transmission information. “A lot of the older equipment doesn’t synch with newer equipment, so maybe the Resistance is using old equipment thinking we can’t track it- we use that trick in the Guild from time-to-time when communicating from mission sites. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the Resistance was doing that now.”

“The Resistance must be resorting to desperate methods.”

“Hey- it’s a perfectly-good method.” You defend as the transmission information finally displays on the panel screen. “We’ve got our transmission. It looks like it was sent from another older piece of equipment.”

“Let me see that.” Kylo says, stepping closer to you to gaze down at the information. The close proximity makes your heart skip a beat, your mind involuntarily wandering back to what you felt in your quarters minutes ago.

“Focus.” He warns you of your thoughts without even looking at you. “It appears to have been a message to another planet.”

“What planet?”

Kylo slowly turns his head to you, an unfamiliar energy radiating from him as he meets your gaze.

“Tatooine.” He says simply.

Your heart stops. “From… from where?”

“Here.” Kylo says as he cocks his head at you. “Someone sent it from here.”

That was it- your heart drops as you realize you’d been caught making your call back home; and Kylo knew it.

You curse under your breath- you were really in trouble this time.

“Yes…” Kylo mirrors your thoughts. “... yes, you are.”

Announcement from the Author:  
Due to popular demand, I have decided to assign a weekly release day so that my COI readers can have something consistent to look forward to every week! Readers can anticipate a new chapter to be posted every Monday at 10:00PM PST. If I ever have more than one completed chapter available, then readers might be surprised with more than one chapter being uploaded from time to time.

Thank you so much for reading, and please continue to enjoy COI!


	9. Indulgence

The whipping winds of the blizzard outside ring through the empty hangar, overpowering any noise that would dare to greet your ears- though you could swear the sound of your heartbeat could overpower it as it thrashes in your chest.  
“What did you do?” Kylo asks calmly as the transmission panel powers down, though you can see his shoulders rising and falling out of the corner of your eye as his anger builds.  
“I- I didn’t mean to-”  
“Expose our position through a non-encrypted transmission? Put everyone’s lives in danger- and for what?!” Kylo’s voice begins to raise. His hand twitches at his side.  
“I just wanted to ensure that my family is safe.” You explain, resolving that there’s not much more you can hide. “I haven’t seen them in months, you must understand-”  
“Family?” He interrupts, turning to face you. “I’ve been in your head- you’re skilled enough to become the galaxy’s most decorated killer, yet you allow them to make you weak, as they have today.”  
You shake your head, feeling an anger beginning to build from inside of you, an anger that has harbored deep in your veins for months now. “I am not weak.”  
“They’ll disappoint you one day. You could be so much more, yet you allow them to hold you back.”  
“No.” You argue, turning back to him and scowling to where his eyes would be behind the cold surface of his mask. “They make me stronger in a way I’m sure you wouldn't understand. I would do anything for my family-”  
“Oh, I’m aware of that; you would make a decision for a moment of resolution at the risk of endangering the entire First Order.”  
“You know what?!” You exclaim, the fury in your veins beginning to boil over. “Sending the transmission was stupid- I’ll give you that. I acted without thinking, and I should have known better. But for the one minute I got with my family, it was worth it.”  
Kylo’s stare is dark and blank. “I won’t let anything get in my way. Not even your family.”  
“Touch them and I’ll end you.” You warn intently. “You might have caught me off-guard once, but you know I will take you down.”  
Kylo takes a step forward, the sound of the snow crunching under his boots soft against the sound of the outside blizzard. You step backwards into the hangar as he approaches, reaching to your side instinctively for your saber but feeling nothing against your empty palm.  
“You keep yourself in the mindset of a fearsome bounty hunter, let you allow yourself to make these mistakes- why?”  
“And you claim to be a ruthless dictator, completely on the dark side, yet you’ve let me   
live this long- why?”   
“I know potential when I see it.” Kylo reaches to his hip, grasping the hilt of his saber. “But unless you choose to cooperate as we had agreed upon, then that potential is useless to me.”  
“What potential?” You ask, wondering what Kylo could possibly know that you don’t already. “Why do you insist on keeping me here?! I have nothing to offer you- nothing I can do is beyond your abilities. I don’t even have any connection with the force. The jedi are long gone, and I’m no exception to that.”  
“You’re so right.” Kylo answers, examining his hilt in the palm of his gloved hand. “You have nothing to give me.”  
“So kill me.” You say, mentally past the point of caring. “What’s stopping you?”  
“Nothing.” Kylo answers, almost too quickly. “Nothing is stopping me. I don’t care for anything. Anyone.”  
You cock your head, feeling an unfamiliar connection to him in this moment that you hadn’t felt with him before as you stop backing away. “You’re wrong.”  
Kylo cracks his neck slightly before igniting his saber at his side, continuing to step closer to you. The flickering of its red embers light up the hangar.  
“If you’d wanted me dead, I’d be dead.” You resolve aloud, realizing something is holding him back. “So I’ll ask again- what’s stopping you?”  
Kylo brings his saber in front of him, stopping only inches away from you with the saber positioned at your neck. It’s so close, you can feel the heat of the embers flicking from its surface. He doesn’t speak.  
“... what are you afraid of?” You whisper.  
“Nothing.” He answers, his voice lower now. “I fear nothing.”  
“Remove your helmet and try looking me in the eyes when you claim to be fearless, then maybe I’ll believe you.” You order, partially out of the desire to read his expression to ponder what lies beyond his cold gaze, and partially out of the need to look upon his eyes again if this really is the last moments of your life.  
He remains silent for a few seconds before using his free hand to release the pressure on his helmet, swiftly grasping it by its edge and pulling it off of his head. He drops it in the snow next to him with an audible crunch.  
Kylo’s eyes are dark as ever- prodding, and frustrated as if someone were screaming at him within his mind. But you noticed something was different as you looked at him now in the darkness. He wore an expression you not only hadn’t seen on him before, but an expression you couldn’t picture on his face before now. It was difficult to discern what you’d call it- curiosity? Fear? Anger wasn’t the right word- it was much more complex than that.  
He presses his plump lips together, causing the small scar just under the corner of his mouth to shiver slightly as he looks back at you. “I fear nothing.”  
You take a deep breath, looking back into his eyes, and push yourself past the involuntary trepidation that his gaze sends deep into your bones. He almost steps away slightly, but remains concrete in his stance as you bring your hands to carefully touch the bottom of his torso. You try to ignore the lust that begins to build up through your torso at the close proximity and slowly begin to run your hands along his hips.  
“... you should be terrified of me.” You whisper.  
Suddenly, you grasp the hilt of your saber that lies on his hip, quickly shoving him backwards as you ignite it at your side. Flashes of red and blue light the dark hangar as you position yourself to attack, your grip tight like iron around your saber.  
Kylo readjusts his posture, an expression of betrayal briefly crossing his face before it falls more serious, any expression of fear now gone and replaced with ferocity.  
“Snoke warned me not to underestimate you. Now I see why.” Kylo says, his jawline tightening.  
Snoke?- You don’t allow yourself to sit on the thought for too long, recognizing he’s trying to distract you.  
Before he can speak again, you charge at him over the snowy ground of the hangar, swinging your saber around your head and attacking him with all of the aggression you have.   
Kylo blocks your attack, bringing his saber upwards and sliding it away from himself effortlessly. You flip your saber around in your hand, twisting your body and attacking him backwards.  
He catches your attack with his saber, allowing it to near him but pushing you away. He rebounds with his own attack, striking down upon you from above, his height a clear advantage over you as you’re forced to retreat backwards into the group of TIE fighters while blocking him. You swipe your saber in front of you to regain your balance as he continues to gain on you, twisting his saber in his hand as he approaches. His stance towers over you, his posture aggressive yet still effortless.  
You twirl your saber around, adjusting your grip and thrusting it forward at his torso, using his blocking as the opportunity to swipe upwards, barely swiping his shoulder. Your attack cuts open the fabric of his coat, exposing the flesh of his bicep with a small burn. He seems unfazed.   
Kylo charges you at a full sprint, deflecting your attacks as he gets closer, bringing his   
arm to your stomach as he makes contact with you. With one swift movement, Kylo hoists you up into the air and slams you down on the icy floor with an audible “thump”.  
Pain radiates through your body at the impact, the slamming feeling stealing the breath from your lungs. Stars flash in your vision as you watch Kylo stand above you, angling his saber down to point it at you as you gasp for air.   
“Snoke… knows who I am?” You ask. “Why?”  
“It doesn’t matter. In a few moments, you will cease to exist.” Kylo says.  
“No.” You say through breaths. “In a few moments, I will be on a TIE fighter on my way out of here, and you will be dead.”  
You put your weight back on your hands and kip yourself up to your feet, bending down for only a moment to grasp your saber before twisting your body around to attack again, almost catching Kylo off-guard and nearly striking his leg.   
Your sabers clash through the air as you continue to attack him repeatedly, the red and blue flashes of light igniting the air and flashing off of the flanks of the TIE fighters, the sound nearly overpowering the sound of the blizzard outside. The electric tension in the air is practically thick enough to grasp. You’re both each other's throats over and over again, neither of you showing signs of retreating. Kylo’s aggression never wavers- his raw, untamed energy pushes you beyond any point you’d ever been in battle before. None of your previous competitors had ever been as even of a match for you as Kylo had, and if it weren’t for his size advantage over you and ability to use the force, you knew you’d already had taken him down.  
Every time you come close to gaining the upper hand, Kylo aggravatingly uses the force to even the playing field- shoving you backwards, or freezing you before you can finish him off. He’s good with his saber- but as are you.  
“Coward!” You yell at him as he shoves you back with the force. “Are you really that inexperienced with a saber that you have to overcompensate with the force?”  
Kylo grunts in aggravation as he releases his hold on you and charges at you, twisting around and attacking you backwards with a fatal swipe. You twist your arm, bringing your grip upwards to push his attack away, finding yourself backed up against a TIE fighter.  
Kylo closes the distance between you, his expression angry as he quickly swipes down at you over and over again from every angle. You block each attack, the chaotic flashing of your sabers blinding in the darkness as your back presses up against the TIE fighter’s flank.  
Realizing you’re cornered, Kylo thrusts his saber forward towards your torso, and you catch it just in time to push his saber away. But instead of deflecting, Kylo maintains his pressure on his saber, and your strengths meet in the air. The sabers press against each other mid-air, flickering as they slowly inch closer towards you.  
You grunt as you push him away with all of your strength, finding yourself completely cornered between the TIE fighter and sabers that slowly inch closer to your skin.  
Kylo takes a step closer to you as he pushes, his torso now inches from yours. Thoughts flash through your mind- of your experiences leading you up to this moment, and what Kylo meant when talking about Snoke and your potential. Curiosity touches the forefront of your mind, and you look instinctively up into Kylo’s eyes.  
“Don’t be afraid.” He whispers, the cloud of his hot breath alit from the sparking sabers as it touches your skin. “I feel it too.”  
Your hands shake as you push back. “Fuck you.”  
His angry eyes peer through the flashing at you, his lip twitching slightly as he continues to push forward. But you see something else in his eyes- dread. You can’t stop your mind from flooding with memories of the different expressions you’d seen in his eyes in the last few months, none of them as vulnerable as this.  
“...Kylo.” You whisper.  
Your grips on your sabers both freeze, neither of you pushing forward any more aside from holding your pressure.  
That’s when the color in the air changes to the blue of your saber. Kylo’s saber disignites and you hear the sound of his hilt being dropped to the ground. Everything moves slowly- you press on the button of your hilt and disengage your saber as Kylo closes the distance between you.  
His body presses yours against the flank of the TIE fighter, both of his hands wrapping against the back of your head and pulling you forward.  
Kylo brings his soft lips to yours.  
Kylo’s kiss is hot, electric with anger as he presses your torsos together. His wet kiss is urgent and hungry against your lips as if they could be taken from him at any moment. He continues to pull you against him, taking all control of your senses.  
His hands move to your arms, pinning them above your head as his lips move to your exposed neck. His tongue runs over your skin gently before you feel his teeth against your neck, biting aggressively at your skin. You wince- moan- at the pain of his bite against your neck, feeling a pooling warmth between your legs at the feeling of his growing bulge under his thick robes pressing against you, right where you need it.  
Kylo keeps the force at your wrists as his hands move down to your pants, tearing open your buttons and pulling them downwards to expose your naked skin to the cold air of the hangar. Part of you frets over the thought of someone walking in and discovering Kylo pressed up against your exposed skin, but the rest of you doesn’t concern yourself with anything but the urgency of feeling him inside of you as soon as possible. Kylo brings his lips back to your neck, sucking your skin into his mouth so hard that it’s painful as he works at his own pants.  
As if you’d asked him, Kylo wraps his hands under your legs and lifts you up, pressing your back against the cold flank of the TIE fighter and reaches down to position himself between your legs. Without warning, he immediately sinks his dick inside of you.  
You groan and feel your body quiver as you feel his size pressing into you, his nearly-inhuman length and width much too large for the walls of your insides to handle, but Kylo clearly doesn’t care and pulls you down onto him.  
The feeling elicits a brief scream from your lips, feeling him stretching you out as he shoves you all the way down on him. He holds you down on his hips and you feel your clit throbbing against the skin just above his dick, wanting to arch your back but the pressure of Kylo’s torso against you holding you in place. Kylo’s grip returns to your neck and lower back as he keeps you in place, feeling his dick twitch inside of you as your walls clamp down on him.  
“Fuck, fuck….” You whisper as you grip his back, tightening your fingers on the fabric of his coat as an exhilarating rush shivers down your spine at the pleasure that pairs with the pain of his warm skin claiming your body. Your fingers relax as you reposition your arms, wrapping them around his neck to hold onto him.  
Kylo lifts you up off of his length, making your body convulse involuntarily at his withdrawal before sinking you back down on him.  
You feel your eyes roll back as he fucks you slowly, lifting you up and sinking you back down repeatedly as he watches you. You move your grip up to his hair, pulling at it and bringing him back to kiss you again. His tongue moves in your mouth, overwhelming your senses as he picks up speed, his dick pulsating inside of you.  
Kylo holds you up as he begins to quicken his thrusts, still sending pain up your spine as he turns his thrusts into slams. You feel his dick assaulting the very back of your pussy, his hard head slamming into you over and over again as he fucks you against the wall created by the flank of the TIE fighter- his hot breaths warm the skin of your neck as he pants through his thrusts, interrupted intermittently by him cursing under his breath as you feel hot jets of precum inside of you.  
“Kylo, I…” You pant, gripping at his hair.  
“What the fuck did you call me?!” He exclaims, angling his torso back to look at you in anger.   
Kylo grips your jaw, supporting your weight with his other arm. “Tell me what you just called me.” He orders.  
Your insides quiver against his length, sending shudders through your torso. “I-... I called you… Kylo.”  
“And what did I say about addressing me informally?”  
“... To only call you Commander Ren.”  
“That’s right.” He says in between moans. “And what did I say would happen when you disobey me?”  
“That you’re going to punish me.”  
“That’s right.” He says.  
Kylo thrusts you upwards to pull his dick out before shoving it back in angrily, sending a hot, tearing pain in the back of your pussy as you’re stretched out further. Instead of pulling out again, he holds you down on top of it, his tip twitching inside of you again. Kylo keeps your jaw in his grip, his eyes drilling a hole deep into your soul. He releases his grip to pull his hand away before pulling it back to backhand you aggressively, the sensation of him striking your cheek sending a searing pleasure across your skin.  
You begin to feel a growing pleasure inside of you, any movement threatening to push you over the edge.  
“You like when I smack you, don’t you?” Kylo asks as he keeps you held down on his dick. “You fucking slut.”  
“Yes, Commander.” You whisper, your cheek numb with pleasure as the feeling continues to build.  
“I know you do. But you don’t get to finish just yet.”  
Kylo thrusts you upward off of him and pulls out, releasing his strength against your   
body and letting your feet fall to the ground. Your legs tremble at the pain between your legs, but he grabs you by the waist and picks you up to carry you back to the transmission board.   
“Bend over.” He orders.  
You pant as he pushes you down, his grip like iron against the back of your neck as the fabric of your coat on your chest slams down on the transmission board’s keys.  
Kylo uses his boots to kick your feet apart to spread your legs and positions himself quickly before forcing his length back into you.  
You wince as he thrusts deep inside of you, the sound of both of your panting  
overwhelmed by the sound of your skin slapping together while he fucks you against the board. You feel his balls slapping against your clit, sending another spark up your skin every time he’s completely sunken into your skin. Through the ripples of delicious pleasure, you can tell something’s wrong- he definitely ripped something inside of you. But you’re too deep into your building orgasm to care.  
Somehow he gets even bigger as he pushes in and out, moving his grip around your throat and taking his other hand to grip your hair in a fist, yanking you upwards to arch you up by his face. His thrusts are unwavering, his slamming consistent in his brute strength as your orgasm begins to build again.  
“Only good girls get to cum.” He pants against your ear as his grip around your throat tightens. “So are you going to be a good girl, or a bad girl?”  
If being a bad girl will get me here...   
“Don’t even think about it.” He warns. “I’ll split you in half.”  
You moan against the building pressure, pushing yourself down further on his dick every time he thrusts. “Do it.”  
Kylo pulls himself out of you, flipping you around quicker than you can manage to keep up with and pushing you pack against the transmission board. He forces your legs apart and hikes your hips up before reaching down to plunge his middle finger deep into you.  
You groan and arch your back at the pain and pleasure he sends into you as he curls his finger inside of you, the rough leather of his glove dragging against the skin of your most sensitive spot before he pulls it out.   
Kylo brings his finger to his lips, sucking your juices off of his glove while keeping eye contact with you.  
“I want to watch you taste yourself.” Kylo says darkly while bringing his fingers back down between your legs. This time, he sinks two fingers into you, eliciting a moan from your lips as he swirls them around inside of you. You curse in between pants as Kylo uses his other hand to press your stomach down through you arching your back, controlling you completely.  
“Open.” He orders.  
You obey his orders, opening your mouth as he pulls his fingers out. Kylo brings his hand to your mouth and presses his fingers on your tongue.  
“Suck.”  
You clamp your lips down on his wet, leather-covered fingers and begin to suck on them- the overwhelming metallic taste of blood mixed with your own juices fill your mouth.  
When you realize that you’re tasting your own blood, your eyes widen.  
“Good… keep sucking.” Kylo hums as he pushes his fingers back further into your mouth, threatening to enter your throat.  
Your eyes shut instinctively as he pushes his fingers in and out of your mouth while bringing his dick back between your legs. The feeling of his other hand around your neck tightens as he chokes you, keeps your breathing shallow.  
Kylo begins to drive his dick into you again, slamming his head right into the most painful- and deliciously sensitive- spot inside of you. You feel your walls clamp down on him, intensifying the sensation of his wet dick sliding in and out of you as he ravages your pussy and claims your body for his own.  
“You don’t cum until I say so.” He orders. “Do you understand?”  
“Yes.” You say through your efforts to breathe.  
“Yes, what?”  
“Yes, sir.” You say as you choke.  
“Good girl.” He praises, his praising sending a warm feeling through your body.  
Kylo thrusts inward, holding you down on his dick through the rippling pleasure and pain. Your mind momentarily wanders to what kind of injury he’d caused when he first entered you, overpowered by the shocking pleasure that rips through your body as he continues to fuck you against the control board.  
The pleasure builds, now trailing you along the edge of falling apart, causing your back to arch against his hand and your legs to wrap around him, pulling him closer.  
Kylo releases his grip on you and places a hand on either side of your shoulders, leaning in to press himself as deep inside of you as possible.  
“It’s… too big…” You mutter through the pain of him stretching you open against the building pressure.  
“Take it…take my cock...” He pants as he picks up speed. “I’m not stopping.”  
You groan, a shiver rushing through your torso at the feeling of his hips rubbing against your clit each time he enters you.  
“Ky-... Commander Ren, I’m going to cum.” You say, your breathing continuing to accelerate.  
“Not without my permission, you’re not.” Kylo warns, a drip of sweat from his forehead falling down on your cheek.  
“Please…” You beg, clamping down on his length and pulling him in deeper with your legs. “Can I please cum?”  
“It depends…” He manages to say through groans each time he forces himself into you. “Are you going to be a good girl?”  
“I… Yes, Commander. I’ll be a good girl.”   
“Better.” He whispers. “Much better.”  
Kylo pushes himself back up to a standing position, keeping you pressed down on the control board. He grips either of your legs and spreads them as far as they can go, practically pulling you apart.  
Kylo snaps his hips- somehow even harder and with more force than he had managed   
up to this point- ramming his entire dick deep inside of you.   
A searing, stinging pain shatters between your legs, feeling the muscles of your groin instantly tearing as he thrusts into you rapidly. You scream, arching your back and gripping his torso as your orgasm comes to its edge, ready to send you into oblivion.  
“... Come!” Kylo orders through gritted teeth, pushing himself into you one last time and holding you down on him.  
He didn’t need to ask twice.  
Your walls clamp down on his dick- feeling his head deep inside of you as your orgasm explodes, sending a shudder throughout your body as the pleasure ripples through you. Kylo shakes slightly as you feel another explosion within you, feeling his hard dick jetting a hot stream of cum deep within you, straight into the very back of your pussy. Kylo’s moans fill the air, almost overpowering the sound of the blizzard outside, as your bodies shake through the explosive orgasm.  
He releases his posture, falling down to his elbows on either side of you and burying his head in your shoulder.  
After a few moments, you reach your hands up to wrap around him, running your fingers through his hair and closing your eyes as you breathe through the pleasure flushing through your bodies.  
“Dammit…” You curse at yourself while he stirs inside of you.  
You both breathe through the feeling of your bodies quaking while the orgasm flushes through you, lying in the moment as his hot breaths radiate against your neck. It’s calm-blissful, even- in your little piece of time that you steal as your heartbeats decelerate.  
Kylo lifts his head slightly, his eyes moving to yours and then back down to your lips. For a moment, you think he might kiss you again.  
Instead, his gaze lingers on your face for only a moment before he lifts himself back up to a standing position. He looks down between your legs briefly, his shaft still inside of you, before placing his hand on your lower torso. Then he quickly pulls himself out.  
The pain you’re now reminded of flushes between your legs. You instinctively want to close them and clench them together, but the pain of the pulled muscles in your groin stops you, eliciting a yelp from your lips.  
“The pain will help you learn.” Kylo says as he tucks his dick back into his pants, zipping them back up as his gaze falls between your legs. “Perhaps next time you’ll be obedient and follow orders.”  
I doubt that.- You think, impressing even yourself with how far you’re willing to push both him and yourself.  
“Hm.” He smirks faintly. “I’ll remember that for next time.”  
“Next time?” You ask through the pain, lifting your head up to look at him.  
“When I told you I could take whatever I want, I meant it. If I want something, I’ll take it.” Kylo says, adjusting his robes. He reaches down and grasps either of your knees. “Relax.”  
You obey, leaning your head back down on the control board.  
Kylo gently lifts your knees, pulling them back together and closing them on the panel. He then leans forward and wraps his hand around the back of your neck and slowly pulls you upwards until you’re in a sitting position.  
You swallow your saliva as you look back at him, examining the sweat on his forehead and his drained expression compared to how he looked minutes ago when he was preparing to kill you. He takes a step back to find his helmet a few feet away. Within moments, he masks himself again, turning him back into the blank, emotionless figure that is Kylo Ren.  
He returns and brings a finger under your chin, raising you up to look at him.  
“What a dirty girl you are- covered in your own blood and juices.” He remarks, his voice mechanical again. “What do you say?”  
“What?” You ask.  
“I allowed you to cum tonight- what do you say?”  
“... thank you.” You say, swallowing your pride reluctantly. “Sir.”  
“Good girl.” He praises. “Stand up.”  
You inch your body forward and off of the control panel, feeling your feet hit the snowy floor.  
That’s when the real pain sets in.  
You clench your teeth at the stinging that spreads between your legs and through your groin, involuntarily gripping at Kylo’s coat to balance yourself.  
“What the hell did you do to me?” You ask through your cringing.  
“I told you.” He says simply. “I split you in half.”  
“Fuck…” You whimper, trying to stand up straight.  
He grips your shoulders, pulling you up to an upright position. “Now go get cleaned up and get to bed. You have many duties to complete tomorrow.”  
You nod, unable to think past the pain as Kylo steps back.  
You move forward, each step more painful than the last as you walk through the snow, reaching down to hold your torn pants closed and gripping at the stinging pain that radiates between your legs with the feeling of each step hitting the ground.  
“Ky- Commander Ren, I don’t think I can-”  
Without being asked, Kylo is suddenly behind you with an impatient sigh, sweeping you off of the ground. His biceps support your weight against his chest as he adjusts his grip underneath you, lifting you effortlessly in his arms. He moves swiftly across the hangar with his long strides while he makes way for your quarters.  
You allow your gaze to meet his mask, but he never looks down at you. He keeps his sights forward through his steps into the hallway, the dim flashes of the lights overhead shining his mask as they pass by. He brings you to your quarters, opening the door and crossing the room to approach your cot.  
Kylo sets you down, supporting you to a sitting position before stepping back.  
“Tomorrow- report to duty. Don’t be late.” He orders, looking you over once more before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.  
You stare at the door, mouth agape as your mind struggles to come to terms with everything that had happened. You bring your shaky hands up to your coat, now hot in the warm confines of your quarters as you unzip it to remove it and toss it by the end of your bed. The uncomfortable uniform top will have to do this evening- you don’t have the energy to cross the room and get a change of clothes.  
You lie back on your cot in relief, carefully reaching down to grip the edges of your pants and struggling to pull them off after kicking your boots off. Eventually you get them to your ankles, and work slowly to shimmy them past your feet.  
With one deep breath, you finally lie back on your cot and feel your pillow hit the back of your head- the exhaustion and new pain from this evening immediately sending you into a deep sleep.  
Usually you’d try to lull yourself in your thoughts, but the events that occurred tonight would render that unnecessary.


	10. Divergence

Most mornings, you'd allow yourself to awaken gradually in the early hours of the day. Bounty hunting was unpredictable, sure, but it kept you on your toes and you had no problem being up and ready for the day at the drop of a hat. But today was a bit different.

Your peaceful sleep was interrupted by visions- nightmares of inferno and terror. Your cold, hardened exterior that you'd purposefully built over the years wasn't shattered by much, but the memories of loss and devastation that resonated deep in your memory was an easy exception. Flashes of your most horrifying experiences returned every few years to haunt you, reminding you at the most inconvenient times that you- even you, the harbinger of death that you'd always found yourself to be- were completely and utterly human; susceptible to implosion at any time. It disgusted you.

It was the same nightmare every time: the fire around you that still felt so real, so hot against your skin, the crying you heard in the back of your father's ship, and the overwhelming feeling of panic that shrouded you at the image of your father lying helplessly in the ship's cockpit. Every time the nightmare revisited you, you'd do the same thing- evacuated your family from the back of the ship before pulling your father from the wreckage. You moved as quickly as you can, but nothing was ever enough. It wasn't enough- it had to be enough, but it wasn't. You couldn't do anything, couldn't move, couldn't-

A voice pulls you from your haze, making you jolt in your cot and snap your eyes open.

"... You in here?" The voice asks from across the room.

You shake your head and force yourself awake, looking up at the old, rusted roof of your quarters on Echo Base. Across the room, you see Dane peeking through the open door to your quarters. He calls your name quietly, peering through the darkness at you.

"Hm?" You whisper, stretching your arms.

"Atwell? Is that you?" Dane whispers, slowly stepping into your quarters and looking for the light.

"Yeah, I'm here." You yawn, pushing yourself up to lean on your elbows.

Dane finds the light and turns it on, lighting up your quarters. "You missed breakfast. Duty isn't for another twenty minutes, but-"

He stops talking when he turns to look at you, his eyes wide and his face devoid of all color.

"Atwell- what happened to you?" He whispers, his face an expression of horror.

"What?" You ask, confused and still coming to terms with being late to the start of your day. "What are you-"

"Are you alright?" He asks, immediately reaching into his pocket to grasp his handkerchief as he rushes across the room. "How did this happen?!"

"How did what happen?"

"Your face, the blood..." Dane trails off, his handkerchief in-hand as if he's preparing to clean you up, but his eyes dart throughout your face in shock as he stands frozen by the end of your cot.

"Oh..." You quickly realize what he's referring to, remembering you'd never cleaned yourself off last night after the events that unfolded in the hangar with Kylo. The thought of the things you had done together sends a shiver through your body, some places stronger than others.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to call someone?" He asks, his eyes a combination of shock and concern, alarming compared to his usual cheerful demeanor.

"I'm fine- I'm fine." You sputter, sitting up completely. "I... I sleepwalk. I must have tripped or something, I don't know what happened. But it's fine, it happens all the time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." You say quickly, realizing that you'd overslept by an hour, at least. "I can't believe I overslept."

You sit up completely and reflexively pull your legs inward towards you to prepare to stand- an overwhelming, practically-paralyzing sting radiates through your body, making you cringe through clenched teeth in pain.

"Wha- are you sure you're okay? You don't look okay." Dane insists, his eyes flickering to the blanket covering your legs.

"I'm okay, I just... really must have hurt myself last night. It's fine."

"Do you need help getting up?"  
"No, I-" You cut yourself off with a wince as you try to move your legs out from under the blanket, freezing in-place as the soreness hits you.

"Okay, no- you need help." He says.

Dane reaches down to the uniform pile you'd assembled at the foot of your bed, lying out your uniform top and bottoms and bringing your boots closer to the head of the bed.

"Here, let me help you." He offers his hands, planting his feet and repositioning himself to help you up.

You remember what had happened last night and falling asleep in your uniform shirt. If you'd had blood on your face, you'd likely have even more in-between your exposed legs. Dane definitely wouldn't believe 'sleepwalking' as an excuse for that one. "No, I've got it-"

"Would you feel more comfortable letting Myra help?" He asks, knowing your answer.

You sigh in frustration- Dane already knows you better than you'd thought. "No."

"Alright, then." He resolves. "I won't look- just stand up."

"Fine."

Dane turns his head away as you scoot yourself upright and carefully swing your legs over the side of your cot, biting your tongue through the urge to curse through the pain. As you fling your blanket off of you, you feel your eyes widen at the sight of your legs.

It really wasn't that bad- nothing you hadn't seen before with an unexpected period during that time of the month- but the amount of dried blood you see between your legs and down your thighs certainly would have sent Dane running out of your quarters to summon medics if he'd seen it. You would have to run to the showers at some point to clean yourself up, but couldn't let Dane catch on to anything being wrong right now.

"Can you hand me my pants?" You ask, motioning to the end of your cot. "You don't have to if you're not comfortable."

"Don't worry, you're not my type anyways." He jokes as he hands your uniform pants to you.

Through a brief struggle, you finally slip your pants over your feet and are able to lean over to grasp your top, putting it on with ease.

"Okay, I'm decent." You tell him. "Can you help me with my boots?"

Dane nods and opens his eyes to help slip your boots on. "You good?"

"Yeah. I can stand."

You push yourself off the end of your bed, immediately stumbling forward at the pain

that runs between your legs. Dane steps forward and grasps your forearms, towering over you as he steadies you.

"You really don't look so good." He says nervously.

"I'll be okay. I just need to get up and walking around, to warm my muscles up."

"What can I do to help?"

"I just need to get to the restroom. Can you come with me?"

"Of course." He says without hesitation.

You take a deep breath and attempt a few steps forward, grimacing through each step as you make your way out of your quarters.

The walk to the restroom is short, just across the small base, but to do it at such an impacted speed draws attention, so you keep your head down. You can feel the eyes of passing staff looking at you peculiarly, and Dane paces next to you the entire way to ensure you get there safely.

"How much time do I have?" You ask at the restroom entrance, still keeping your head down.

"About ten more minutes, I'd say." Dane answers after checking his datapad.

"Okay. I'll meet you at lineup-"

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere." He says immediately. "I'll wait here for you."

"I don't want to make you late." You argue, hesitating to go inside the restroom

knowing you could delay the both of you.

"If you're late, I'm late." Dane says. "I don't care. Get yourself cleaned-up and don't worry about me."

Part of you wanted to groan in frustration and roll your eyes at him, but you could clearly see Dane meant well and seemed genuine in his words. That, and you were in no condition to try to argue with him given your current condition.

You reluctantly continue knowing Dane will be waiting outside, rushing as quick as your wobbly legs can take you to the showers and undressing to rinse yourself off as fast as possible, avoiding your head and trying to salvage what's left of your hairstyle from last night. After re-dressing yourself, you finish by rushing to the sink to brush your teeth and realizing exactly what Dane was so shocked about.

Before buttoning your uniform top up, you see a trail of bruise-like hickeys and bite marks trailing up your collarbone and neck, along with a smear of dried blood by your mouth.

"You're kidding me..." You marvel, looking in the mirror as you button up your uniform top and quickly wash the blood off. Your warm fingers on the skin of your lips and cheek remind you of whose fingers were there last- flashes of the soft, wet leather of Kylo's gloved fingers grazing your bottom lip grace your memory, creating a warm feeling in your stomach.

You shake it off and force your legs to move under you, ignoring the sharp soreness that incessantly pangs in your lower torso and meet Dane back outside to report to lineup.

Everything begins to resurface- the feeling of the cold, hard flank of the TIE fighter against your back, the metallic, leathery taste in your mouth as Kylo's fingers grazed your tongue- the hot, hard feeling of his dick tearing apart your insides as he literally split you in half.

What did all of this mean?

You try to process what happened as you cross the base with Dane to try and make lineup on-time, attempting to keep your mind off of the way your body reacted involuntarily to the thoughts of the way Kylo's touch felt on your skin and trying to focus on how you'd gotten to that point; you could've sworn you two were fighting just before that had happened.

Not that you were opposed to angry sex, but you'd found Kylo's dynamic mindset difficult to keep up with.

Did you still need to expect actual, First Order-administered punishment for sending a non-encrypted transmission, or did Kylo even mention that to anyone? If he didn't, then you would have to wonder why he would cover for you. But above all, why did last night even happen in the first place?  
Dane seems beyond relieved that the two of you barely make it to lineup in time, and the rest of the morning seems to go by in a blur.

You return to the command post on top of the ice and coordinate the deployment teams with Hux all morning. The sub-aquatic team is able to use the transmission data from the information received last night to narrow down the location of the acknowledgement, which seems to be much to Hux's relief as it cuts down the search time.

"Bring it up!" Dane orders the team about halfway through the day.

"What is it?" You ask, feeling out-of-the-loop since Dane took over the majority of the tactical operations at the command post.

"We found a large object embedded in the ice." He says excitedly. "We think it's what acknowledged the message."

"Good." A low voice says from behind you. The sudden pressure on your frontal lobe gives away who's talking.

"Commander Ren." Dane says, his posture suddenly straightening. "We're extracting the object we believe to have sent the electronic acknowledgement. It was embedded in the ice just south of the command post."

"Bring it to me." Kylo orders simply as Dane returns to his work.

You watch Dane guide everyone, leaving you standing alone next to Kylo. The tension in the air is so thick, you could practically reach out and grasp it. The cold, biting breeze drifts Kylo's scent into you, making your heart skip a beat. You clench your jaw in response, becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the reactions he elicits from your body just by standing next to you.

What the hell do you want?- You think to yourself at the pressure in your temple.

The pressure releases, but Kylo doesn't speak.

"I assume you didn't divulge to anyone that I was the source of the original message?" You ask to fill the silence, continuing to avoid Kylo's gaze.

"... No." He says mechanically.

"Why?"

Kylo doesn't answer, only watches after Dane with you.

"Fine. Don't answer."

"You would benefit greatly from addressing me as your supervisor, not as someone you can speak openly with."

You chuckle. "Right. First the spanking, then the angry sex in the hangar- I've probably seen more of you than anyone else out here, yet I have to address you formally?"

"Keep your voice down." He spits angrily. You can't help but enjoy the spice behind his words and the fact that it's because of you. "You especially need to address me formally."

"And why is that?"

Kylo ignores your question, immediately moving on. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with Lieutenant Dane."

"And? Why do you care?"

You can see Kylo's helmet turning towards you slowly, the irritation radiating from him.

"My apologies." You say with a smirk, lacing each word with sarcasm. "Why the hell do you care, Commander Ren?"  
"... you're very bold for someone whose body reacts to me the way yours does." Kylo says.

You feel your smirk drop. A sound emanates from his mask, similar to a chuckle.

"What, are you jealous or something?" You ask, humoring yourself.

"No." He answers, almost too quickly. "It's simply not in your best interest to-"

"He's married." You cut Kylo off.

"That doesn't-"

"To a man."

"... oh." Kylo says, his tone calmer now.

So jealous. - You think to yourself, biting your tongue through the instinct to allow your smirk to expand across your cheeks.

"You're lucky I allow you to be out here." Kylo says. "Running your mouth like that."

"Are you referring to my thoughts? Because you can't possibly expect to regulate those, too. In fact, I think I just might mentally do a little extra reflecting on last night today if I so please, considering the fact that-"

"Don't get cocky." He warns. "How do your legs feel today? Sore?"

You didn't think he would bring it up, especially in such close proximity to the other commanding staff. Your eyes flicker to the stormtroopers that stand nearby, who seem engrossed in their own conversation as they observe Dane directing everyone to get the object out of the water.

"No, I'm great, actually." You answer spitefully. "You could've done better."

"Could I?" He asks, almost amused in his tone. "I'll keep that in mind."

Shit.

"I would've assumed otherwise considering the amount of assistance you needed in navigating the base today." He points out.

"How would you know? You weren't at lineup."  
"I didn't need to be."

"What, so now you're spying on me?" You ask, shaking your head. "Seems a bit possessive for someone who doesn't care."

"I don't need to care to understand the importance of monitoring the health of my command staff."

"Right, right." You wonder if whatever Kylo would have in store would be worth you allowing yourself just one little eye roll. "What do you want anyways?"

"Excuse me?"

"Last night, everything you've done to me behind closed doors- why?"

"You know why."

"I can ensure you, I don't have the slightest idea." You insist. "I've seen quite a few systems in my career, but I've never quite..."

Kylo watches you patiently.

"You perplex me." You finally admit. "I can't figure out what you want. Or why you want it."

"I don't appreciate your tone. Or lack of respect." He says, still not making any sense.

"Surely I can't be the only person in the First Order who is 'bold' enough to think for myself, so why me?"

"It doesn't matter." He says, his tone final.

Then you remember something. "Wait- last night you said something. You said something about Supreme Leader Snoke, something about a warning- what were you going to say?"

"It doesn't matter." He repeats. "It couldn't have been correct."

"What are you even-"  
You're interrupted by the sound of the tactical machinery pulling a massive object out of the water, and the sound of several footsteps nearing you as everyone backs away from it as it's exposed to the outside air.

"Impossible..." One of the stormtroopers marvels as the object is carefully set aside on the solid ice next to the command post.

You and Kylo push through the crowd of staff to get to the object, freezing in place once it's within your vision.

"It's..." You mutter, trailing off.

"A snowspeeder." Dane answers, his expression alight with wonder as he begins to circle the object. "A T-47 Airspeeder, to be more specific. The old Rebel Alliance used to modify these into snowspeeders back in the day. They're practically ancient."

"Is it occupied?" You hear Hux ask as he approaches from behind you.

Dane climbs up on the side of the speeder and looks into the cockpit. "It appears there's... something in here..."

"Open it up." Hux orders.

The stormtroopers approach the ship and are able to pry the cockpit open, releasing a cloud of cold steam from its interior.

To everyone's disgust, the opening of the hatch exposes a uniformed and helmeted rebel alliance pilot- grey-skinned and frozen in time. His face is an image of shock in his death- his jaw slack.

"Ugh... take him away." Hux says, looking away from the wreckage. "And confirm this was the vessel that received the transmission."

"Yes, sir." Dane steps back for the stormtroopers to remove the body from the cockpit

as everyone else watches before he steps into the cockpit. You step forward to join him, watching him navigate the control panel as the stormtroopers drag the body through the snow away from the ship.

"It seems this thing's still got some juice." Dane says while clicking through the panel.

"Really? I wonder what happened." You say, peeking over the edge into the cockpit.  
"There was a big battle here back in the Empire days. They must've gone down during the battle and frozen. General Hux!"  
Hux joins the both of you, his brows furrowed in the cold. "Tell me this vessel is the one that acknowledged our message so we can get out of here."

"It is." Dane resolves. "It appears this is the vessel that acknowledged the transmission. Did the Finalizer ever advise what the original message was?"

"A delayed message sent from an old transmitter at Echo Base." Kylo immediately cuts in as he approaches the ship. "Nothing of importance."

But why is he covering for you?

"Very well then. If we've wasted enough time and resources, I would like to see we get off of this godforsaken planet." Hux says. "Break down the command post. I'd like to go home."

You would be lying to yourself if you said you would miss the cold, snowy interior of Echo Base. You pack your belongings into the satchel you brought them in, along with the album you'd found in Kylo's quarters, and join Dane on one of the stormtrooper transports to get back to the Finalizer; relieved that your body had warmed up by the end of the evening enough to be able to push through the pain from last night.

You avoided Kylo for the entire trip out of Hoth's icy atmosphere- reasonably so, considering his particularly-agitating lack of explanation for why he initiated everything that had transpired between the two of you in the last few weeks. But throughout everything- the confusion, the hard trip out of Hoth's endless blizzards to get back into the sky, and the reminder at the sight of the Finalizer that you weren't going to get home anytime soon- you find yourself relieved of your worries by Dane's enthusiasm for all of the things you detested. He would go on and on about his theories to where he thought the Resistance was and his positivity for the upcoming briefings back on Starkiller to strategize the First Order's next steps, and you allowed yourself to be drawn in deeply to these conversations as a distraction from your true worries.

Once back aboard the Finalizer, it's a short trip back to Starkiller, and suddenly you're in the world of the First Order again- like you had never left.

The familiar sound of the hard, metal flooring of Starkiller clicking underneath your heels as you make your way back to your quarters in the late hours of the evening is music to your ears, and all you can think about is the way your pillow is going to feel against your head when you finally get to fall asleep.

That is- before your thoughts immediately change course at an alarming sight just outside of your quarters.

Just outside the doors to your quarters, two figures stand waiting for you. You'd never seen anything like them before- tall, and uniformed from head to toe in shiny, red armor-like uniforms covering every inch of their bodies. Even their oversized, sharp weaponry is red in color and catches the glimmering from the fluorescent lights that are embedded in the ceiling.

"Good evening." You greet them, catching their attention. "May I help you?"

"Are you Sergeant Atwell?" One of them asks.

"Yes, that would be me."

The figures immediately approach you, flanking you on either side and blocking you from entering your quarters. "You have been summoned."

"Summoned? By whom?"

"By Supreme Leader Snoke." The other one answers. "We are to take you aboard the Supremacy immediately."

"The Supremacy?" Your heart drops at the mention of the most important ship in the First Order's fleet. "There must be some kind of mistake, there's no way I-"

"Supreme Leader Snoke doesn't make mistakes." One of the figures says, putting an

arm behind you to usher you forward.

"But-"

"Not another word." They warn.

You cautiously obey, keeping your lips pursed and following them out of the command quarters area and back out to a transport. The further away you get from your quarters- from your bed and what would've been a good night's sleep- the more your heart falls in disappointment.

You'd never been on a transport like this before- it's much more high-end than anything you'd ever traveled on, even compared to the luxury transports of the richer bounties you'd hunted down in the past. The red leather interior of the seats underneath you remind you of a recent bounty- rich weapons traders that were on a fuel stop in Naboo. The red leather wasn't as easily stained by their blood once your job was over. But this time, the only person whose blood could be spilled on the leather was yours.

The Supremacy hangs in Starkiller's atmosphere, only a few minutes' journey from the base, yet it takes what feels like forever to cross the Supremacy to get wherever they're trying to take you.

As you follow the two figures off of the transport and deep into the Supremacy, a pit begins to grow in your stomach. It wasn't a feeling you experienced often, considering you knew your strengths and abilities. But when you felt it- you trusted it. And every instinct in your bones screamed at you to turn around and run.

The figures lead you around a corner to a towering archway that opens up to a massive, dark-colored room with sleek accents. You are ushered across a bridge-like platform leading up to a tall, silver throne backed by a bright red wall, making the figure sitting in the throne stand out amongst the others. It could only be one person- Supreme Leader Snoke.

The thought of calling him a 'person' would taste bitter on your tongue; his face is distorted, twisted and crumbled in such a sickly way that you question if he's even of the humanoid species. You had seen quite a few species in your day, but you would easily call whatever Snoke is the least appealing to the eye- even considering the Hutt you'd had to take down on your last bounty.

He stands tall, almost gracefully, and steps down from his throne towards you as you get closer. He towers several feet over anyone else in the room, bringing one long, lanky arm to his chin in thought as he observes you in your stride.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a familiar figure facing away from you- tall, with black robes. You call out to him mentally, but he doesn't answer. He keeps his gaze forward on Snoke.

"Good evening." Snoke says, his voice booming even from across the room.

The two figures, who seem to be guards by the looks of them being clad-similar to the rest of the guards standing around the platform by the throne, guide you up to stand next to Kylo before taking a step back.

"Supreme Leader." You respond hesitantly, resisting the urge to turn and look at Kylo expectantly. "You summoned me?"

"I did, indeed. Come here." Snoke hisses.

Your heels tap quietly on the black flooring as you carefully approach the throne, keeping your gaze forward and never looking up at Snoke as you approach. As you come to a halt, Snoke raises a hand and you immediately feel an intense pressure throughout your head. It's nothing like when Kylo tries to invade your thoughts- if anything, you would call it more juvenile in feeling. It's much more powerful, as if Snoke is searching for something but doesn't have an idea what for.

"Y-you don't... have to do that..." You stammer through the growing pressure. "If you want to know... something... then ask..."

"Very bold, indeed." Snoke says, maintaining the pressure. "Commander Ren had mentioned you had a sharp tongue. I think I'll do some searching for myself."

You purse your lips, feeling your jaw quiver at the pain that begins to develop from the pressure.

"Interesting." Snoke says.

Then, all in one instant, the pressure alleviates- more painful than it is relaxing. You feel fresh air flow into your lungs as you inhale with relief, grasping your stomach reflexively.

"Why is she necessary?" You hear Kylo ask from behind you.

"I'm afraid it isn't yet time for me to divulge that information to you, my young apprentice. All will reveal itself when the time is right." Snoke says, turning away from you to return to his throne. His golden robes flow along the sides of his legs as he sits back down, still massive in size compared to you even in a sitting position. "Do you know why I have summoned you?"

"No, sir." You answer, swallowing your pooling saliva.

"It is because I have a task for you of high importance." Snoke explains with the wave of a hand. "You are to play an imperative role for the First Order."

"But I'm only a Sergeant." You state in confusion.

"I'm aware of your true identity- bounty huntress."

"Wha-"

"I can see what's inside your mind. My apprentice did not have to divulge anything to me." Snoke answers your questions before you'd even asked him.

"If you know who I am," You say, trying to put the pieces together, "Then you know I'm of no use to you. Why can't I go home?"

"Commander Ren had the correct idea by keeping you around to deploy into the Resistance once we have the chance, but hasn't the slightest idea of your true destiny. You will be a great asset to the First Order in ways you are yet to discover."

"Are you talking about... matters of the force?"

"No. You are not force-sensitive."

"I figured." You nod, still confused. "Then what do you need me to do so I can go home?"

"What you can do for the First Order is political above all."

"I don't understand." You admit. "What do you mean 'what I can do for the First Order'?"

"If I divulge your destiny to you- it won't unfold as it's meant to be."

An aggravated sigh escapes past your clenched teeth. "So I can't go home because I have some bizarre unspoken destiny that I have to fulfill without knowing what it is?"

Snoke smiles, his grin twisted and gruesome. "You're a smart girl. You'll figure it out eventually."

"What does it have to do with me, master?" Kylo asks from behind you.

"It has everything to do with you." Snoke answers cryptically. "She will be a great political asset to the First Order, but first she must assume further knowledge regarding the chain of command- by your side."

"What?!" You exclaim. "I don't need to be by a man's side to learn about your government. Tell me what I need to do, and-"  
Suddenly, the force is at your neck, obtruding your windpipes completely with an overwhelming, sinking pressure into your windpipe. Snoke glares across the throne room at you through the constriction as you feel it pull you upwards to the point where your feet slowly begin to lift off of the ground.

"What you need to do is obey my orders." Snoke spits. "You will learn more about the chain of command within the First Order by my apprentice's side. This is non-negotiable."

He releases the pressure before saying anything further, dropping you to the ground and leaving you gasping for air. As you climb back up to your feet, you feel Kylo's eyes on you.

Now I know where you get it from- You think to Kylo.

"Perhaps if you are on your best behavior, you may be granted a brief expedition to

your home planet at Commander Ren's discretion." Snoke points out as you get back up to your feet. "Until then, I trust you will achieve a great amount of educational achievement along Commander Ren's side until you have the chance to deploy into the Resistance at the earliest possible notice."

"Yes, Master." Kylo says from behind you, his tone seemingly just as aggravated as yours.

"Very well, then. Go." Snoke orders.

You turn around, feeling your heart sinking further into your chest as your eyes meet Kylo's- this being the first time seeing his face since your time in the hangar. You briefly examine the scar you gave him across his eye and notice this time that there's something you haven't seen before behind his eyes- something you hadn't noticed before.

Pain.

He allows you not another moment to observe him as he motions for you to follow him and turns to exit the throne room, leaving you alone with your thoughts to wonder what kind of pain someone of his stature could possibly be in. He always seemed so different in-person, so emotionless yet cocky, but in the throne room something seemed off.

You watch the sweeping tail of his black robes as you follow him out of the throne room, catching a whiff of his smoky scent on the way to the transport back to Starkiller base. As you re-board the transport with Kylo and sit across from him on the leather seats, you cross your ankles instinctively and press your thighs together, the image of him this close to you again reminding you of the stinging pain in-between your legs.

"So you are sore." He breaks the silence about halfway in-between the transport.

"... excuse me?" You ask, your eyes flickering up to the cockpit where you're certain a pilot sits, overhearing you.

"The pilot's a droid." He answers your speculations.

"Either way," You say, keeping your eyes on the cockpit and avoiding his gaze. "It seems... rude."

"What, are you worried Snoke will hear us from here?"

"... maybe."

"It wouldn't be difficult for me to direct the droid to take us elsewhere. So I can find out firsthand just how sore you really are."

"You wouldn't. I'm too tired, anyways. It wouldn't be any fun."  
"It wouldn't be for you."

You cock your head back at him. "Do whatever you want. I'm too tired to care at this point. Where do I need to be tomorrow and at what time?"

"I'll fetch you when it's time."

"And what am I supposed to tell people?"  
"Nothing." He says. "You're following direct orders from the Supreme Leader. That's all anyone needs to know."

"If someone asks me-"

"You can speak when I allow you to speak."

Your brows raise, creasing your forehead as you scowl at Kylo. "Okay, first of all, fuck you. Second of all, I don't need your permission to-"

Your voice is cut off abruptly as you feel something stealing the words from your mouth.

"When I allow you to speak." He says simply before releasing you.

Your jaw drops slightly in the silence as you glare at him in shock.

"Careful." Kylo warns you before continuing. "My previous warnings still stand,

especially now. If you continue to act out of order-"

"Yeah, I know- you become the big, bad dictator." You mutter, moving your gaze to examine the details of the red leather of the transport.

In an instant, Kylo is on his feet and crossing the speeder. He closes the distance between you and reaches out to grasp your jaw, forcing you to look up at him.

"You will learn to follow directions whether it's enjoyable for you or not. I caution you as a courtesy- a courtesy you clearly have not yet earned."

You look up at his eyes, deep and brown and gleaming with the same intensity you'd seen in them in the hangar.

"Enjoyable?" You ask.

"Hm," Kylo hums as he raises his thumb and runs it over your bottom lip. "Perhaps if you're a good girl, your learning process can be enjoyable for you."

"And if I'm not?"

Kylo's lip twitches slightly. "Then I'm afraid it will only be enjoyable for me."

In a moment of spontaneity, you reach up and grasp Kylo's hand, catching him off guard as you push it off of your face. You stand up while keeping eye contact, making him reflexively inch back slightly.

"See, the thing is- you keep saying you're going to do all of these things, but you don't." You say, feeling your body fill with adrenaline at the feeling of your chest pressing his backwards.

Kylo opens his mouth to respond, a glimmer of anger crossing his eyes before another sound distracts you.

The doors of the transport sweep open.

"We have arrived back at Starkiller base, Commander Ren." The pilot droid announces from the cockpit.

Kylo closes his mouth, his jaw clenching as he continues to glare back down at you.

"Oh, good- we're back." You smirk as you turn to exit the transport.

You step outside into the transport hangar and wait for Kylo as he puts his helmet back on, feeling satisfied with yourself.

Kylo finally exits the transport and you follow him across the hangar, not knowing where you're headed. Eventually, after a few minutes, you both enter the command wing, where your quarters lie.

"Goodnight." You say, spotting the door to your quarters out of the corner of your eye.

"No. Follow me." Kylo directs as he continues walking.

Your brow furrows as you continue to follow him hesitantly down the hall of the command wing, the frustration of your fatigue growing inside of you. Around the corner, you arrive at a hallway you'd never been to before- the higher command quarters. He leads you down the darkness of the hallway without speaking a word, and you feel your heartbeat begin to accelerate.

"Where are you taking me?" You ask in the silence.

"To your new quarters."

The hallway eventually opens up to a large, hexagonal room with three doorways. Kylo stops in front of the room the furthest to the right and keys some information into the panel next to the door, causing it to sweep open. With a simple hand gesture, he motions for you to enter.

You oblige, stepping inside the dark room that lights up as you enter.

The quarters are much more vast than your quarters back across the wing- oversized and dark-colored in its design, and much more plain than any space you'd call "home". But none of that matters, compared to the massive glass wall on the opposite side of the room, opening up the view to the vast openness of space.

"Oh, wow..." You marvel under your breath.

"I expect you to inhabit your quarters when you're not in my company." Kylo says as you cross the room to look outside.

You reach out and press your palm against the cold glass, feeling the frigid temperature of the atmosphere outside. "You expect me to be here all the time?"

"When you're not in my company." Kylo repeats.

You shake your head. "I'm like a prisoner."

"... you're my prisoner." Kylo whispers.

You flip around, stunned by his words as he watches you stand in front of the glass.

"I expect you to obey me. Every second of every day." He continues.

"Why?"

"Because it's my responsibility to bring you to your full potential... whatever it takes. I will not fail the First Order."

Never in your wildest expeditions had someone told you this, and as bizarre as it felt, you believed him with every fiber in your being. You'd never taken directions from anyone before- lived your own life on Tatooine with no rules, and had your own dreams and aspirations of freedom long before this assignment. Your last guess would be that it would put you in this position, committing to yet another obligation of obedience to anyone, let alone Kylo Ren. Yet here you were, contemplating just how hard it would be to escape. Different factors flash across your mind- your safety here, your family, and even the transmitter chip that had to have been embedded deep in your veins as Kylo had mentioned. One wrong move and you could be blown to pieces.

But throughout all of this, you found yourself fighting the urge to open your mind up to what you felt deep inside of you- the desire that pulled you closer to Kylo. You couldn't explore this emotionally; you'd never opened up to anyone like that before. But it was clear to you that you felt an undeniable, physical pull to him, so deep down within you that even you couldn't explain what it was or why you felt it.

You push the thoughts out of your mind, the thought of your family coming to the front of your thoughts as always. "Then, once I've fulfilled this strange aspiration from the Supreme Leader... can I go home?"

"... yes." He answers, his tone grave and serious even through the mask.

"If I agree to comply, what would I do?"

Kylo takes a step forward into your quarters, reaching down to the nightstand by the edge of your bed and running a gloved finger along its surface.

"You will report to duty as usual." He explains, looking down at his fingers as if checking for dust. "You will learn more about the political aspirations of the First Order by my side, and take orders from me as I give them and without question."  
"Obviously." You say, growing impatient. "And?"

"I need you to be at your best if I'm going to expend any energy on providing you with any kind of education or training."

You lean against the glass, crossing your arms. "Am I not at my best now?"

"Negative." He answers immediately. "I need you to be prepared to venture anywhere in the galaxy at the drop of a hat. I need you to be your most comfortable and prepared- I don't expect that of you in your current condition."

"Okay..." You follow, feeling a spark in your chest as you begin to realize where this is going.

Kylo sighs, confirming your speculations. "We both know you're more comfortable with a saber."

"Yes?" You purse your lips to stop a smile from spreading.

Kylo reaches under his robe at his hip and pulls forward the silver hilt of your saber. The light of the room reflects off of it as he looks down at it, flipping it over in his hand.

"This lightsaber, it isn't yours. You may consider it a loan and use it with discretion." He says before setting it down on the nightstand.

"I.... thank you." You say, the palms of your hand itching to have it back in your grip again.

"I expect you won't use it to try and kill me. Or Hux. Again."

You huff, blinking through the urge to roll your eyes at him again. "Fine."

"And tomorrow I expect you will be prepared for your new assignment in the proper clothing. Something more comfortable in case your particular skillset becomes necessary."  
"I don't have to wear my uniform?"  
"I'll send over a tailor tomorrow." Kylo says, stepping back from the nightstand and turning to exit. "You should retire."  
"Finally." You whisper in relief.

Kylo stops in your doorway and turns around, raising a finger. "Sir."

"I mean... yes... sir." You answer reluctantly.

The feeling of having to address him as someone in charge of you angered you deeply, but you'd be lying if you said that the idea of being under his control didn't spark something dark inside of you- something that felt so wrong in such a right way.

*


End file.
